Donald Trump’s personal attacks on judge spark GOP concerns

Senior US Republicans have distanced themselves from Donald Trump’s comments about a Mexican-American judge, saying they were anxious that the tone of his presidential campaign could enrage Latinos, who are a growing US voting bloc. A third prominent Republican who also supports Trump urged the candidate to start acting like “a potential leader of the United States”.

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Ryan had openly clashed with Trump several times. He added, “I hope it’s not”.

Trump made his first reported comments about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in February, linking Curiel’s Mexican heritage with what Trump described as the judge’s “tremendous hostility” over Trump’s plan to build a wall along the Mexican border.

Trump on Thursday told The Santa Fe New Mexican he has “always liked” Martinez – despite telling his supporters at a New Mexico rally late last month that she’s “not doing the job”.

“I don’t condone the comments”, added Sen.

Also Sunday, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said he does not condone Trump’s remarks about Curiel.

And Newt Gingrich, who became speaker of the House promising to open the GOP more to minorities, delivered the harshest warning of all.

As Trump works to unify the fractured GOP behind him, these Republicans, Ryan among them, are struggling to show the same enthusiasm Trump has generated among rank-and-file conservatives across the nation.

Former Secretary of State Clinton is likely to finally clinch the Democratic nomination over challenger Bernie Sanders on Tuesday when six states hold nominating contests.

The board says Trump doesn’t deserve the party’s mandate.

Ryan had made Trump really sweat for it, starting with a public refusal to back the nominee, even after he had wrapped the race and won the requisite number of delegates. Trump has maintained that customers were overwhelmingly satisfied. Trump has variously referred to Curiel as Spanish, Mexican and Hispanic and has called the judge “a hater of Donald Trump”.

Ryan has thrown in with a man who, with his support for a travel ban on the members of one of world’s largest religions, has cast aside the very religious freedoms that Republicans claim to staunchly defend.

Racial politics, for one.

“The race simply would play into common stereotypes about Republicans being out of touch and unfair to working people and it would hurt Trump’s ability to win blue-collar support”, West said.

“I certainly would have taken a different approach”, he said.

Gingrich answered was: “I think that it was a mistake …” But I say he’s got bias. “This judge is an American citizen”. Trump’s campaign and private lawyers handling the lawsuits did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. Talking to CNN reporter Jake Tapper, the House Speaker said “we don’t always nominate a Lincoln and a Reagan every four years, but we hope that our nominee aspires to be Lincoln- and Reagan-esque”.

Like Ryan, all three Republicans have endorsed Trump.

Democrats have accused Trump of racially tinged rhetoric about Latinos, including his description of Mexican immigrants as “criminals and rapists” in the speech he gave a year ago launching his campaign.

“I’m building the wall, I’m building the wall”, Trump told The New York Times. As W. James Antle III writes at The Week, “G$3 iven his shifting statements and obvious disinterest in policy details, perhaps Trump will prove more malleable than conservatives anticipate”.

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“Trump has got to, I think, move to a new level”, he said. “You think I’m going to change?” he asked during a combative news conference last week at Trump Tower in NY.