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- Trump called Marshall a “Shylock-type guy” at a Kansas rally.
- Kansas Democrats condemned the term as a centuries-old antisemitic slur.
- The article says no law required Marshall to sue patients over unpaid bills.
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President Donald Trump on Monday used an antisemitic slur while defending U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall’s history of suing patients over unpaid medical bills.
Trump, while speaking at a rally in Park City, said Marshall’s controversy made him out to be “kind of a Shylock-type guy,” a term widely condemned as offensive to Jewish people.
Monday’s rally in Kansas marked the second time Trump has publicly used the term and his comment immediately sparked blowback. The president last year claimed he did not know the word was offensive after using it to describe types of bankers at a rally in Iowa.
“The word he used is a centuries-old antisemitic slur, built on the ugliest stereotypes about Jewish people and money,” Kansas Democrats said in a statement on Tuesday condemning Trump’s use of the word.
Shylock is the name of a Jewish moneylender and villain in the centuries-old William Shakespeare play “The Merchant of Venice.” The term has since become a shorthand for antisemitic depictions of greed and has been condemned for elevating offensive stereotypes about Jewish people.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A Marshall spokesperson did not respond to questions about the president’s use of the word.
In 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden apologized for using the word after facing backlash.
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Marshall’s medical debt controversy
Trump’s comments renewed focus on Marshall’s medical debt collection practices as an OB-GYN in rural Kansas. The former physician’s campaign has faced scrutiny after revelations that he took more than 700 patients to court over unpaid medical bills.
The president repeated a false claim that Marshall could have been arrested if he had not pursued civil action against his patients. Trump made a similar claim on his own social media site earlier this month.
“If he didn’t make these requests, he would be breaking the law,” Trump said on Monday. “He would have been breaking a very strong criminal law and he would be subject to criminal arrest and liability.”
No federal or state law requires medical providers to turn patients with outstanding balances over to collections. There is also no law requiring debt collectors to request that judges issue arrest warrants for defendants who fail to appear in court.
A Star analysis of court records tied to 150 active and defunct medical practices across Kansas found 35 that sued patients over unpaid bills. Many sought wage garnishments, but none charged as high as 18% annual interest on bills, the rate Marshall tacked on.
“Kansas deserves better than this,” Kansas Democrats said in a statement. “Better than a senator who sued his own patients. Better than a president who defends it with bigotry and a claim that isn’t true.”
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