Trump Deploys Antisemitic Slur to Back Sen. Marshall’s Lawsuits
WHO:
CNN - President Donald Trump defended Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, against criticism of Marshall’s medical billing practices.
CNN - The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned Trump’s use of the term “Shylock,” calling it “very troubling and irresponsible.”
CNN - The article says former President Joe Biden apologized for using the word in 2014.
WHAT:
CNN - Trump used the antisemitic term “Shylock” while defending Marshall’s lawsuits against more than 700 patients for unpaid medical bills.
CNN - Trump said: “You’re not allowed not to do it. You have to, by law, go after those people, and they made it like, oh, he was some kind of a Shylock-type guy.”
CNN - Trump also said that if Marshall did not make the requests, “he would be breaking the law” and “subject to criminal arrest and liability.”
NBC News Politics - The rally remarks followed an article reporting that Marshall sued hundreds of patients over unpaid debts while practicing medicine.
CNN - Trump previously said he had “never heard” the word used as an antisemitic term, explaining: “To me, Shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates.”
CNN - The ADL said the word’s use “underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country,” adding, “Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.”
WHERE:
CNN - Trump made the remarks at a rally in Kansas.
NBC News - The rally defending Marshall took place in Kansas.
WHY:
CNN - Trump defended Marshall against criticism over suing patients for outstanding medical bills, asserting that Marshall was legally required to pursue payment.
CNN - Trump said critics had portrayed Marshall as “some kind of a Shylock-type guy.”
HOW:
CNN - Trump used the term while arguing that Marshall had to pursue patients for unpaid bills by law.
CNN - Trump said he had used the term at a rally in Iowa and later said he did not know it was viewed by some as antisemitic.
CNN - The New York Times first reported that Marshall had sued more than 700 patients over medical bills.
(UPDATED October 21, 2026 00:32 UTC)
At a rally in Kansas, President Trump used the antisemitic term “Shylock” while defending Sen. Roger Marshall over lawsuits against more than 700 patients for unpaid medical bills, saying Marshall was required by law to pursue payment. The Anti-Defamation League called Trump’s use of the word “very troubling and irresponsible,” adding that leaders’ words matter and that it expects more from the president. Trump has said he understood “Shylock” to mean a high-interest money lender and had not known it was viewed as antisemitic.