Republicans attempt to tie Kansas Democrats to extremism with spurious claims at Trump rally

PARK CITY — President Donald Trump’s campaign rally Monday in Kansas provided a platform for his misleading and hyperbolic claims, including the disputed assertion that protesters were being paid to interrupt him.

He also used an antisemitic slur to defend U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall.

Some of the Kansas Republicans who took the stage before Trump similarly used exaggerated or misleading claims while urging Republicans to vote in the Nov. 3 election.

Trump appeared in an arena outside Wichita alongside Marshall; Kansas U.S. Reps. Ron Estes, Tracey Mann and Derek Schmidt; Republican gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Ty Masterson; Attorney General Kris Kobach, who is running for reelection; state Rep. Pat Proctor, who is running for Secretary of State; and Treasurer Steven Johnson, who is running for reelection and led the rally’s attendees in prayer.

Protesters interrupted Trump’s speech multiple times throughout. The first few outbursts elicited from Trump claims that the protesters were paid to be there.

“Oh, here’s another one. Listen to that one,” Trump said. “I can tell by the voice they get paid. They get paid.”

The Wichita Eagle reported 11 people were escorted from the arena through the night, and talked to several who disputed that they were paid.

While defending Marshall’s history of suing former patients — and in some cases having them arrested — for failing to pay medical debt during his time as an OB-GYN, Trump used an antisemitic slur to describe the backlash that ensued after the New York Times reported Marshall’s collection practices.

According to court records, Marshall sued more than 700 patients for varying amounts of medical debt, and roughly 80 of them were arrested as a result. Marshall charged some of his former patients 18% interest on their debts, which is higher than state statute permits without written agreement. 

“And they made it like, oh, he was some kind of a Shylock-type guy. And if he didn’t make these requests, he would be breaking the law,” Trump said. “He would have been breaking a very strong criminal law, and he would be subject to criminal arrest and liability. And he didn’t do it. He has a law firm that did it.”

“Shylock” is an insulting and contemptuous term for a Jewish person, derived from the name of a character from the William Shakespeare play “The Merchant of Venice.”

Trump said Marshall got “a bum rap.”

“So I don’t know if I should be saying it, but that’s the way it is, Roger. I have to tell it like it is. You got screwed with that stuff,” Trump said.

Trump also made derogatory remarks toward Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Michigan U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib. All three are Muslim.

Claiming socialist ties

The Trump rally came 15 days before Election Day, and Trump encouraged attendees to “please pretend I’m on the ballot.”

Republicans throughout the rally sought to tie Democrats to socialism, communism and extremism. Trump said at one point the Democrats’ agenda is “a plan to extinguish Western civilization.”

Mann, who represents Kansas’ 1st District, said the Democratic Socialists of America “has completely taken over the Democrat Party.” 

The DSA is a 100,000-member group that has endorsed fewer than 50 candidates this year in municipal, county, state and federal races. No one running for statewide or federal office in Kansas has been endorsed by the DSA. One candidate for state representative in southeast Kansas was endorsed by the DSA this year. 

In order to usher in Republican victories on Election Day, Mann said, “we need to tie every Democrat up and down the ballot to this insanity.”

Marshall said his Democratic opponent, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, who has never held public office, supported Obama-era open border policies and pushed for “benefits for illegals.” Hamilton held an appointed advisory council position under the Obama administration, which evaluated how best faith-based groups and community organizations could bolster social services and public policies across the U.S.

Marshall also said Hamilton was “the reason the Methodist church split.” Hamilton, who leads one of the largest United Methodist congregations in the country, has been a pastor for roughly 30 years. The United Methodist Church underwent a schism between 2019 and 2024 with more than 7,000 churches leaving because of their opposition to same-sex marriage and gay clergy. Hamilton’s church, Resurrection, remained a part of the United Methodist Church.