ADL Criticized for ‘Deeply Unserious’ Statement Responding to Trump’s Use of ‘Shylock’ Slur That Omits His Name

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a statement Tuesday condemning the use of the antisemitic slur “Shylock” — but drew criticism from commenters who found the statement to be “weak” and questioned why the person who almost certainly sparked the statement was not mentioned.

The controversy began with a speech President Donald Trump delivered in Wichita, Kansas Monday evening while defending Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) against criticism about suing his own patients.

Marshall is facing a tough re-election battle in a state that has elected Republicans to the Senate for nearly a century, partly dragged down by Trump’s poor polling and other headwinds against the GOP in this midterm election year, but also due to problems of his own making — chiefly a report by  The New York Times about Marshall’s 25-year-plus career as an obstetrician-gynecologist. According to court records, Marshall had sued more than 700 of his own patients over unpaid medical bills, resulting in 81 who were arrested.

The report sparked outrage, as many of Marshall’s patients were financially struggling and lived in a rural area, and his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton, has used the controversy to blast Marshall in his campaign ads. Polling shows those attacks are landing.

As Trump stumped for Marshall Monday evening, he falsely claimed the senator was required by law — under threat of arrest or being sued himself — to sue his own patients, complaining that the media had treated Marshall like “he was some kind of a Shylock type guy.”

“Shylock” was the name of an antagonist in William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, a Jewish character who is portrayed as a predatorily greedy lender. The name has a long history of being used as an antisemitic slur.

Trump’s speech was fact-checked as containing multiple errors or misrepresentations, as well as being condemned for his use of “Shylock.” He has used the insult before, during a July 2025 speech in Des Moines, Iowa, to criticize Democrats and bankers.

The ADL also posted a statement on social media about the use of the term “Shylock,” which notably did not mention Trump.

“The term ‘Shylock’ is rooted in a longstanding antisemitic stereotype,” the statement said. “Regardless of intent, its use can reinforce harmful tropes about Jews and normalize language that has long been used to target the Jewish community.”

The statement swiftly drew questions about the omission of who exactly had said “Shylock,” as well as criticism saying the statement should have been harsher in its condemnation of a longstanding antisemitic slur. The ADL limited replies on the tweet, but the quoted tweets are overwhelmingly critical.

Ford McCracken, breaking news reporter for The Hill, pointed out that the ADL “directly condemned Trump” the last time he used the term “Shylock,” calling it “very troubling and irresponsible,” but now the statement “does not mention his name.”

A sampling of additional reactions is below.

Watch the video above via C-SPAN on YouTube.

Ahmad Austin Jr. contributed to this report.

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