Trump uses antisemitic slur at Kansas rally

President Trump used an antisemitic slur at a rally in Kansas on Monday while defending Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) over revelations he sued his patients for unpaid medical bills.

Trump has defended Marshall for going after the unpaid bills, saying he was “mandated by law” to do so.

“He was mandated by law to request, strongly, money owed from patients. You’re not allowed not to do it, you have to by law go after those people,” the president said, going on to use an antisemitic slur to describe how he felt the reporting characterized Marshall.

Marshall is in a competitive Senate race in Kansas against Democrat Adam Hamilton. Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Marshall a 65 percent chance of winning reelection.

The president used the slur before during remarks at a bill signing for his signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July 2025. He said the slur while speaking about allowing farmers to pay reduced estate taxes.

When asked about his use of the slur, Trump at the time said he had “never heard it that way” and said he viewed the use of the word differently.

The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Trump and Republicans have attempted to court Jewish voters this cycle, hitting Democrats in some key races for their views on Israel. CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten recently pointed to surveys of Jewish voters in New York, which has a significant Jewish population, showing Democrats losing support.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a nonprofit advocating against antisemitism, said in July 2025 that the slur “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed.”

The term Trump used originates from William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” which features a Jewish character of the same name who extended a loan to a merchant and said he would cut off the merchant’s flesh if it was not repaid.

The ADL wrote last year that the slur “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous,” adding, “President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible.”

In a new statement Tuesday morning, the ADL reiterated that the slur was offensive but did not name the president directly.

“Regardless of intent, its use can reinforce harmful tropes about Jews and normalize language that has long been used to target the Jewish community,” the ADL wrote.

Former President Biden also used the slur in 2014 while vice president and later apologized for doing so.