NATO leaders gather Tuesday for what could be a historic summit, or one marred by divisions

NATO leaders gather Tuesday for what could be a historic summit, or one marred by divisions
US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts are gathering this week for what might be a historic summit. (AP)
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Updated 23 June 2025
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NATO leaders gather Tuesday for what could be a historic summit, or one marred by divisions

NATO leaders gather Tuesday for what could be a historic summit, or one marred by divisions
  • US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts are gathering this week for what might be a historic summit
  • NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was optimistic for an agreement to dedicate 5 percent of GDP to defense spending

THE HAGUE: US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts are due to gather Tuesday for a summit that could unite the world’s biggest security organization around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the 32 allies.
Just a week ago, things had seemed rosy. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was optimistic the European members and Canada would commit to invest at least as much of their economic growth on defense as the United States does for the first time.
Then Spain rejected the new NATO target for each country to spend 5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense needs, calling it “unreasonable.” Trump also insists on that figure. The alliance operates on a consensus that requires the backing of all 32 members.
The following day, Trump said the US should not have to respect the goal.
“I don’t think we should, but I think they should,” he said. Trump lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, saying: “NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. Spain’s been a very low payer.” He also criticized Canada as “a low payer.”
Spain was the lowest spender in the alliance last year, directing less than 2 percent of its GDP on defense expenditure, while Canada was spending 1.45 percent, according to NATO figures.
Then Trump ordered the bombing of nuclear installations in Iran. In 2003, the US-led war on Iraq deeply divided NATO, as France and Germany led opposition to the attack, while Britain and Spain joined the coalition.
European allies and Canada also want Ukraine to be at the top of the summit agenda, but they are wary that Trump might not want President Volodymyr Zelensky to steal the limelight.
A short summit, decades of mutual security
The two-day summit in The Hague involves an informal dinner Tuesday and one working session Wednesday morning. A very short summit statement has been drafted to ensure the meeting is not derailed by fights over details and wording.
Indeed, much about this NATO summit is brief, even though ripples could be felt for years.
Founded in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by 12 nations to counter the threat to security in Europe posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, notably via a strong US presence on the continent.
Dealing with Moscow is in its DNA. Keeping the peace outside the Euro-Atlantic area is not.
NATO’s ranks have grown to 32 countries since the Washington Treaty was signed 75 years ago. Sweden joined last year, worried by an increasingly aggressive Russia.
NATO’s collective security guarantee — Article 5 of the treaty — underpins its credibility.
It’s a political commitment by all countries to come to the aid of any member whose sovereignty or territory might be under attack. Trump has suggested he is committed to that pledge, but he has also sowed doubt about his intentions. He has said the US intends to remain a member of the alliance.
A civilian runs NATO, but the US and its military hold power
The United States is NATO’s most powerful member. It spends much more on defense than any other ally and far outweighs its partners in terms of military muscle. Washington has traditionally driven the agenda but has stepped back under Trump.
The US nuclear arsenal provides strategic deterrence against would-be adversaries.
NATO’s day-to-day work is led by Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister.
As its top civilian official, he chairs almost weekly meetings of ambassadors in the North Atlantic Council at its Brussels headquarters. He chairs other “NACs” at ministerial and leader levels. Rutte runs NATO headquarters, trying to foster consensus and to speak on behalf of all members.
NATO’s military headquarters is based nearby in Mons, Belgium. It is always run by a top US officer.
Ukraine’s role at the summit is unclear
With Trump demanding greater defense spending, it’s unclear what role Ukraine will play at the summit. Zelensky has been invited, but it’s unclear whether he will have a seat at NATO’s table, although he may take part in Tuesday’s dinner. Russia’s war in Ukraine usually dominates such meetings.
More broadly, NATO itself is not arming Ukraine. As an organization, it possesses no weapons of any kind. Collectively, it provides only non-lethal support — fuel, combat rations, medical supplies, body armor, and equipment to counter drones or mines.
But individually, members do send arms. European allies provided 60 percent of the military support that Ukraine received in 2024. NATO coordinates those weapons deliveries via a hub on the Polish border and helps organize training for Ukrainian troops.
NATO’s troop plans
A key part of the commitment for allies to defend one another is to deter Russia, or any other adversary, from attacking in the first place. Finland and Sweden joined NATO recently because of this concern.
Under NATO’s new military plans, 300,000 military personnel would be deployed within 30 days to counter any attack, whether it be on land, at sea, by air or in cyberspace. But experts doubt whether the allies could muster the troop numbers.
It’s not just about troop and equipment numbers. An adversary would be less likely to challenge NATO if it thought the allies would use the forces it controls. Trump’s threats against US allies — including imposing tariffs on them — has weakened that deterrence.
The US is carrying the biggest military burden
Due to high US defense spending over many years, the American armed forces have more personnel and superior weapons but also significant transportation and logistics assets.
Other allies are starting to spend more, though. After years of cuts, NATO members committed to ramp up their national defense budgets in 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the NATO allies agreed to make 2 percent of GDP the minimum spending level. Last year, 22 countries were expected to hit that target, up from only three a decade ago.
In The Hague, the allies were expected to up the ante to 3.5 percent, plus a further 1.5 percent for things like improving roads, bridges, ports and airfields or preparing societies to deal with future conflicts. Whether they will now remains an open question.


‘Simple Buddhist monk’ Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday

‘Simple Buddhist monk’ Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday
Updated 5 sec ago
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‘Simple Buddhist monk’ Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday

‘Simple Buddhist monk’ Dalai Lama marks landmark 90th birthday
  • Celebrations on Sunday are the culmination of days of long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso
  • Followers believe he is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama
MCLEOD GANJ, India: Calling himself a “simple Buddhist monk” who usually didn’t celebrate birthdays, the Dalai Lama marked his 90th on Sunday by praying for peace after China insisted it would have final say on who succeeded the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Chanting of red-robed monks and nuns rang out from Himalayan hilltop forested temples in India, home to the Dalai Lama since he and thousands of other Tibetans fled Chinese troops who crushed an uprising in their capital Lhasa in 1959.
“I am just a simple Buddhist monk; I don’t normally engage in birthday celebrations,” the Dalai Lama said in a message, thanking those marking it with him for using the opportunity “to cultivate peace of mind and compassion.”
Dressed in traditional robes and a flowing yellow wrap, walking with the aid of two monks while flashing his trademark beaming smile to thousands of followers, he watched dramatic dance troupes with clanging cymbals and bagpipes before the start of prayers.
Beijing condemns the Nobel Peace Prize winner – who has led a lifelong campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau – as a rebel and separatist.
Alongside the celebrations, however, is the worry for Tibetans in exile that China will name its successor to bolster control over the territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has ruled ever since.
That raises the likelihood of rival challengers to the post; one by self-declared atheist Beijing, the other by the Dalai Lama’s office based in neighboring India, a regional rival of China.
The celebrations on Sunday are the culmination of days of long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, a man whose moral teachings and idiosyncratic humor have made him one of the world’s most popular religious leaders.
“While it is important to work for material development, it is vital to focus on achieving peace of mind through cultivating a good heart and by being compassionate, not just toward near and dear ones, but toward everyone,” he said in his birthday message.
“Through this, you will contribute to making the world a better place.”
The celebrations also included his key announcement that, after being inundated with messages of support from fellow Tibetans both inside and in exile, the spiritual institution will continue after his death.
He said he had received appeals from followers from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China.
The seemingly esoteric matters of reincarnation have real-world political consequences, with Tibetans fearing his death will mark a major setback in his push for more autonomy for the Himalayan region.
The Dalai Lama said his India-based office alone would “exclusively” identify that successor – prompting a swift and sharp reply from China that the reincarnation “must be approved by the central government” in Beijing.
China said the succession would be carried out “by drawing lots from a golden urn,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Wednesday.
That urn is held by Beijing, and the Dalai Lama has warned that, when used dishonestly, it lacks “any spiritual quality.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered effusive birthday greetings on Sunday, calling the Dalai Lama an “enduring symbol of love, compassion, patience and moral discipline.”
India and China are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia, but have sought to repair ties after a 2020 border clash.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said in a statement that Washington was “committed to promoting respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Tibetans.”
Among the crowds attending the celebrations was Hollywood star Richard Gere, a longtime backer of the Tibetans in exile, who on Sunday said the Dalai Lama “totally embodies selflessness, complete love and compassion and wisdom.”
No details have been released for the future succession.
All so far have been men or boys, often identified as toddlers and taking up the role only as teenagers.
The current Dalai Lama, himself identified in 1937, has said that if there is a successor it will come from the “free world” outside China’s control.
In a speech to followers on Sunday, the Dalai Lama said his practice of Buddhism meant he had dedicated his life toward seeking compassion.
“I’m now 90 and... when I reflect on my life, I see that I have not wasted my life at all,” he said, speaking in Tibetan.
“I would not have regrets at the time of my death; rather I would be able to die very peacefully.”

Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll hits 50

Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll hits 50
Updated 9 min 13 sec ago
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Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll hits 50

Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll hits 50
  • Multiple flash flood warnings remain in place across central Texas after water surged through communities
  • The flooding began Friday as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours

HUNT, United States: Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating floods that killed 50 people in the US state.

Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place across central Texas after water surged through communities, with the Guadalupe River rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in just 45 minutes.

The Kerr County summer camp where hundreds were staying was left in disarray, with blankets, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud.

“We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children,” said Larry Leitha, the sheriff of the flood-ravaged region.

Multiple victims were also found in other counties, bringing the death toll to 50.

Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead.

“We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found,” he said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources from President Donald Trump.

The flooding began Friday — the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend — as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”

In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris.

“The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so,” said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. “Cars, whole houses were going down the river.”

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves more frequent and more intense.

On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from Camp Mystic in flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were attending the camp along the banks of the Guadalupe.

US media reported that four of the missing girls were dead, citing their families.

The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Michael, who only gave AFP his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter.

“I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it,” he said, adding that he was hoping for a “miracle.”

The obituary section of the Kerrville community news site was dotted with tributes to victims, including Camp Mystic’s owner and director Dick Eastland.

The director of Heart O’ The Hills summer camp located about a mile from Camp Mystic, Jane Ragsdale, was also confirmed dead.

Elsewhere in Texas, four people were confirmed dead in Travis County, northeast of Kerr, and 13 people were missing, public information office director Hector Nieto said.

A 62-year-old woman’s body was found in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County, along the Concho River, police said.

Two more people died in Burnet County, the area’s emergency management coordinator Derek Marchio said, bringing the state-wide death toll to 50.

Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem said Trump wanted to “upgrade the technologies” at the weather service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“We need to renew this ancient system,” Noem told a press conference.

Scientists and disaster management agencies have criticized Trump for cutting funding and staffing at the NOAA, in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS.

When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning of the floods, Noem said she would “carry your concerns back to the federal government.”

Officials and residents alike were shocked by the speed and intensity of the flooding.

“We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday.

“The predictions were definitely off,” and the rain was “double of what was anticipated,” Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said.

Rice added that rescuers were facing “very difficult” conditions, and declined to give an overall figure for how many were missing.

Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.

“It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this,” Reyna said.

“Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people’s houses... It’s just crazy,” she added.


Leaders of growing BRICS group gather for Rio summit

Leaders of growing BRICS group gather for Rio summit
Updated 49 min 45 sec ago
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Leaders of growing BRICS group gather for Rio summit

Leaders of growing BRICS group gather for Rio summit
  • Expansion of the BRICS opens new space for diplomatic coordination
  • Over 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS

RIO DE JANEIRO: Leaders of the growing BRICS group of developing nations were set to gather in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, calling for reform of traditional Western institutions while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateralism in an increasingly fractured world.

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive “America First” approach of US President Donald Trump, expansion of the BRICS has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.

“In the face of the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging nations to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform the international financial architecture,” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a BRICS business forum on Saturday.

BRICS nations now represent over half the world’s population and 40 percent of its economic output, Lula noted.

The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as full members. This is the first leaders’ summit to include Indonesia.

“The vacuum left by others ends up being filled almost instantly by the BRICS,” said a Brazilian diplomat who asked not to be named. Although the G7 still concentrates vast power, the source added, “it doesn’t have the predominance it once did.”

However, there are questions about the shared goals of an increasingly heterogenous BRICS group, which has grown to include regional rivals along with major emerging economies.

Stealing some thunder from this year’s summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his prime minister in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

Still, many heads of state will gather for discussions at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Over 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.

Growing clout, complexity

Brazil, which also hosts the United Nations climate summit in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while Trump has slammed the brakes on US climate initiatives.

Both China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding conservation of endangered forests around the world.

Expansion of the BRICS has added diplomatic weight to the gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund.

The growth of the bloc has also increased the challenges to reaching consensus on contentious geopolitical issues.

Ahead of the summit, negotiators struggled to find shared language for a joint statement about the bombardment of Gaza, the Israel-Iran conflict and a proposed reform of the Security Council, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity to speak openly.

To overcome differences among African nations regarding the continent’s proposed representative to a reformed Security Council, the group agreed to endorse seats for Brazil and India while leaving open which country should represent Africa’s interests, a person familiar with the talks said.

The BRICS will also continue their thinly veiled criticism of Trump’s US tariff policy. At an April ministerial meeting, the bloc expressed concern about “unjustified unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate increase of reciprocal tariffs.”


Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at US hospitals, but are running into visa issues

Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at US hospitals, but are running into visa issues
Updated 06 July 2025
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Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at US hospitals, but are running into visa issues

Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at US hospitals, but are running into visa issues
  • US projected to face a physician shortage in the next 11 years, and foreign medical residents fill critical gaps in the health care system
  • More than 6,600 foreign-born international medical residents matched into US programs in 2025 — the highest on record

Some hospitals in the US are without essential staff because international doctors who were set to start their medical training this week were delayed by the Trump administration’s travel and visa restrictions.
It’s unclear exactly how many foreign medical residents were unable to start their assignments, but six medical residents interviewed by The Associated Press say they’ve undergone years of training and work only to be stopped at the finish line by what is usually a procedural step.
“I don’t want to give up,” said a permanent Canadian resident who matched to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Harrisburg but had her visa denied because she is a citizen of Afghanistan. She requested to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal. “But the situation also seems so helpless.”
Initially, the medical community was worried that hundreds of positions — many in hospitals in low-income or rural areas of the US — could be affected. The pause on interviews for J-1 visas for approved work or study-related programs was lifted in mid-June.

Medical staff walk through a hallway at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center on  July 1, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

The national nonprofit that facilitates the residency match process said the visa situation is resolving, but it will take weeks to know with confidence how many medical residents have had the start of their careers derailed because they got their visa too late or were blocked by President Donald Trump’s travel ban on 12 countries, according to people who coordinate the residents’ training.
Four foreign medical residents told the AP that US embassies have been slow to open up interview slots — and some have not opened any.
“You lose out on the time you could have used to treat patients,” said one resident from Pakistan, who matched to an internal medicine program in Massachusetts and requested to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
Thousands of foreign medical residents fill gaps in US hospitals
The US is projected to face a physician shortage in the next 11 years, per the Association of American Medical Colleges, and foreign medical residents fill critical gaps in the health care system. More than 6,600 foreign-born international medical residents matched into US programs in 2025 — the highest on record — and another 300 filled positions that were vacant after the match process was complete.
Not all of those residents were affected by visa issues or the travel ban on foreign nationals from countries including Afghanistan, Haiti and Sudan.
International medical graduates often take jobs in places where US medical trainees tend not to go, said Donna Lamb, president of the National Resident Matching Program.
“It’s not just that they’re coming in and they want to work in big, flashy centers on the coast,” Lamb said. “They’re truly providing health care for all of America.”
Foreign medical residents work in specialties that US applicants aren’t as eager to apply to. For example, international candidates make up almost 40 percent of residents in internal medicine, which specializes in the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
“The residents are the backbone of the entire hospital,” said Dr. Zaid Alrashid from Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York, which has medical residents from almost every continent. Most received their visas prior to the pause but a few were caught up in delays.

Ambulances are parked outside Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center on  July 1, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Two residents from India who spoke on condition of anonymity have not been able to get an appointment at any US embassies there despite the J-1 visa pause being lifted.
Another resident from Egypt just secured a visa appointment for mid-August but is worried her program may not be willing to wait for her. She’s already paid her security deposit for an apartment in Texas to live during her residency.
“I don’t know when this situation will be resolved,” said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding she hasn’t been eating or sleeping well.
Hospitals waiting for residents to arrive

In California, leaders at two graduate medical education programs said they have a small number of residents caught up in J-1 visa delays. Both spoke on condition of anonymity due to concerns for the doctors who are still trying to get visas.
A residency leader at one large health care system said two doctors in its 150-resident program are delayed, adding they could start late or defer to next year. A 135-person program at a California public health system told the AP that one resident has yet to arrive, though he was finally scheduled for a visa interview.
“We are not going to breathe easy until he’s here in our hospital,” the second leader said.
As of Wednesday, Lamb’s matching program had received fewer than 20 requests to defer or cancel residency contracts.
Worried about losing their spots if they defer, many foreign medical residents may keep trying to get to the US and start their residencies late, said Dr. Sabesan Karuppiah, a past member of the American Medical Association’s International Medical Graduates Governing Council and former director of a large residency program.
Some hospitals may struggle at this point to replace the residents who don’t make it, leaving fewer people to care for the same number of patients, said Kimberly Pierce Burke, executive director of the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers.
Foreign medical trainees who’ve made it into the US remain on edge about their situations, Karuppiah said.
“I can tell you the word on the street is: ‘Do not leave the country,’” he said, adding that people are missing out on important events, seeing sick parents or even getting married. “Everybody’s scared to just leave, not knowing what’s going to happen.”
 


Trump says he didn’t know an offensive term he used in a speech is considered antisemitic

Trump says he didn’t know an offensive term he used in a speech is considered antisemitic
Updated 06 July 2025
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Trump says he didn’t know an offensive term he used in a speech is considered antisemitic

Trump says he didn’t know an offensive term he used in a speech is considered antisemitic
  • The Anti-Defamation League said Trump’s use of the word “underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump says he didn’t know the term “shylock” is considered antisemitic when he used it in a speech to describe unscrupulous moneylenders.
Trump told reporters early Friday after returning from an event in Iowa that he had “never heard it that way” and “never heard that” the term was considered an offensive stereotype about Jews.
Shylock refers to the villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” who demands a pound of flesh from a debtor.
The Anti-Defamation League, which works to combat antisemitism, said in a statement that the term “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous. President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible.”
Democrat Joe Biden, while vice president, said in 2014 that he had made a “poor choice” of words a day after he used the term in remarks to a legal aid group.
Trump’s administration has made cracking down on antisemitism a priority. His administration said it is screening for antisemitic activity when granting immigration benefits and its fight with Harvard University has centered on allegations from the White House that the school has tolerated antisemitism.
But the Republican president has also had a history of playing on stereotypes about Jewish people.
He told the Republican Jewish Coalition in 2015 that “you want to control your politicians” and suggested the audience used money to exert control.
Before he kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump drew widespread criticism for dining at his Florida club with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist.
Last year, Trump made repeated comments accusing Jewish Americans who identify as Democrats of disloyalty because of the Democratic leaders’ criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Critics said it perpetuated an antisemitic trope about Jews having divided loyalties and there being only one right way to be Jewish.
On Thursday night in his speech in Iowa, Trump used the term while talking about his signature legislation that was passed by Congress earlier in the day.
“No death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing some from, in some cases, a fine banker and in some cases shylocks and bad people,” he said.
When a reporter later asked about the word’s antisemitic association and his intent, Trump said; “No, I’ve never heard it that way. To me, a shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates. I’ve never heard it that way. You view it differently than me. I’ve never heard that.”
The Anti-Defamation League said Trump’s use of the word “underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country. Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.”