Trump Uses 'Shylock' Slur While Defending Sen. Roger Marshall

What did Trump say about Sen. Roger Marshall?

Speaking Monday at a campaign rally inside Heartland Credit Union Arena in Park City, Kansas, President Donald Trump defended Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., against reporting on his record as a physician by saying the coverage made Marshall "out to be some kind of a shylock-type guy," according to NBC News. Marshall is not Jewish. Trump told him onstage, "You got screwed with that stuff," without naming the outlet that published the story, NBC reported.

What is the history behind the word 'shylock'?

Shylock is the moneylender in William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." The Anti-Defamation League, in a guide written for educators teaching the play, states that "Shylock, and by extension, all Jews, are presented as money-hungry, conniving, and cruel," according to NBC's reporting. The term has long been cataloged as an antisemitic slur by Jewish advocacy groups because of that association.

"Shylock, and by extension, all Jews, are presented as money-hungry, conniving, and cruel." — Anti-Defamation League educator guide, as cited by NBC News

What prompted the reporting Trump was defending Marshall against?

The New York Times reported last month that Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist before entering the Senate, sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills, a practice that resulted in dozens of arrest warrants for missed court dates, NBC News reported. Marshall's lawyer said the senator had no involvement in the warrants or arrests tied to those cases, and Marshall himself called the story a "hit job," according to NBC.

Has Trump used this slur before?

Yes. Trump used the same word last year in a speech promoting his domestic policy bill, describing exploitative bankers as "shylocks," NBC News reported. Jewish groups denounced the remark at the time. Trump said afterward that he had "never heard it that way" and that to him "shylock is somebody that's a moneylender at high rates," according to NBC's account, denying knowledge of the term's antisemitic history.

NBC also noted that former President Joe Biden used the same word in 2014 and later apologized for it, a comparison that places Monday's remark in a broader pattern of the slur surfacing in national politics across two administrations.

What is at stake in Marshall's Kansas race?

Marshall, in the Senate since 2021, is facing Democrat Adam Hamilton in what NBC described as a closer-than-expected contest. Hamilton is a megachurch pastor and former Republican who said he switched to run as a Democrat this year after considering an independent bid, and he has drawn a number of endorsements, according to NBC News. The White House did not immediately respond to NBC's request for comment on Trump's remarks at the rally.

The Kansas race, and the renewed scrutiny of Trump's word choice, arrives as both parties court voters ahead of a midterm contest in a state Republicans have not recently had to defend closely.