Trump uses antisemitic 'Shylock' slur to defend GOP Kansas senator

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Oct 20, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President Donald Trump used the antisemitic “Shylock” slur to defend endangered GOP Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a medical doctor who sued patients for unpaid medical bills.

The unpopular president, who is barnstorming red states and districts in hopes of fending off a Democratic blue wave in the midterms, used the slur to claim Marshall is being unfairly attacked for seeking to get his money from deadbeat patients.

“He was given a bum rap,” Trump told a cheering crowd of MAGA loyalists in Park City, Kansas. “They made it like: ‘Oh, he was some kind of a Shylock-type guy.’”

“Shylock” was a Jewish money lender in Shakespeare’s famed play “The Merchant of Venice.” Antisemitism watchdogs say it should not be used because the term implies that Jews are stereotypically “money-hungry, conniving, and cruel,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Trump used the term last year in a campaign speech and said at the time that he was unaware of its antisemitic connotations. He would seem to be unable to repeat that claim now since his assertion about Marshall presumes that the listeners would know “Shylock” is a slur.

Marshall, who is not Jewish, is locked in an unexpectedly tight reelection battle against Democrat Adam Hamilton in what might be the biggest surprise of the midterms. Republicans have not lost a U.S. Senate race in Kansas in 94 years and Trump won the state in 2024 by more than 16%.

Marshall has come under attack for his aggressive approach to unpaid medical debts, a growing financial burden for millions of Americans.

Dozens of his former patients wound up being jailed when they were unwilling or unable to settle their accounts with him, making Marshall seem insensitive to the rising cost of living crisis that is hurting Republicans nationwide.

Democrats likely need to flip four Republican-held seats to retake the Senate, where Trump’s GOP allies now hold a 53-47 edge, with Vice President JD Vance holding a tie-breaking vote.

Blue-leaning Maine and swing state North Carolina have long been seen as likely targets, but Democrats are now leading or tied in red states that voted for Trump by wide margins including Kansas, Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Iowa.

-----------