Rep. David Kustoff (Tenn.) one of four Jewish Republicans in the House of Representatives, said he was not offended by Donald Trump using an antisemitic slur while at the same time saying antisemitism should be condemned.
In his speech at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday, Trump used the word “shylock” while touting aspects of the massive domestic policy bill that passed Congress earlier.
‘Shylock’ was the greedy and vengeful Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice who demanded a “pound of flesh” from the merchant Antonio if he failed to repay a loan.
According to the Anti Defamation League the term ‘Shylock’ “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous.”
In an interview on CNN, Kustoff told host Brianna Keiler that he was not aware that the term is antisemitic and even after learning of its origins he’s not offended by Trump using the term.
“Well, until you said that people were offended– I was not offended,” he said in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “And until you said that, I wouldn’t. We’ve gotta condemn antisemitism. We see it rampant across the nation. We’ve certainly seen it accentuated since October the 7th of 2023 across the country.”
“I think that when we see the people say words and they intend for it to mean what it means, antisemitic remarks, antisemitic sentiment, then obviously we’ve gotta call it out” he added.
Trump also pleaded ignorance after using the slur.
“I’ve never heard it that way. To me, Shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve never heard it that way, you view it differently than me. I’ve never heard that.”
