House Speaker Paul Ryan hopes that the tone of the presidential campaign improves in the wake of Republican criticism of GOP nominee Donald Trump for remarks about a federal judge Gonzalo Curiel’s Mexican heritage.
“As conservatives, we want to run inclusive campaigns, we want to run inspiring campaigns,” Ryan told “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson in an interview posted on Saturday. The interview took place in Anacostia neighborhood of Washington earlier this week when Ryan rolled out a policy initiative to tackle poverty.
Ryan has rolled out policy proposals for foreign policy as well in an effort to show the seriousness of the GOP agenda.
The congressman told Dickerson he hoped that the campaign will have a “learning experience,” adding, “Hopefully we can learn from this with a better tone and campaign that everybody can be proud of.”
Ryan has said that Trump’s comments on Curiel were the textbook definition of racism. Trump had said Curiel, presiding over a lawsuit against the now defunct Trump University, is not treating him fairly because of his Mexican heritage.
Curiel is from Indiana but his parents are Mexican.
Ryan said that Republicans shouldn’t get involved in “identity politics,” which he said should be left to Democrats.
