Hillary Clinton’s campaign emailed reporters late Monday with a list of 28 Republican lawmakers and columnists who have criticized Donald Trump’s comments about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel.
“Last week, in reaction to growing media scrutiny over the scam that was Trump University, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attacked the judge presiding over one of the class action lawsuits against Trump University based on his heritage,” the email states.
“While Trump rejected CNN’s question Friday of whether Trump’s attack was ‘the definition of racism,’ a number of Republicans and conservative commentators condemned Trump’s attacks on Judge Curiel — calling his accusations ‘the literal definition of racism,’ ‘absolutely unacceptable,’ ‘flat out wrong,’ and ‘racist, nonsensical rhetoric’ that ‘has no place in American society,'” the message reads. The list of condemning Republicans was extensive:
Sen. Marco Rubio [R-FL]: “That man (Curiel) is an American, born in the U.S., a judge who has earned that position. I don’t think it reflects well in the Republican Party. I don’t think it reflects wells on us as a nation.”
Ohio Governor John Kasich: “Attacking judges based on their race &/or religion is another tactic that divides our country. More importantly, it is flat out wrong.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: “I don’t know what Trump’s reasoning was, and I don’t care,” former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who has been supportive of Trump, said in an email. “His description of the judge in terms of his parentage is completely unacceptable.”
Brian Walsh, former communications director for Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn: “I don’t care if [Trump’s] the nominee — Republicans should loudly condemn this racist, nonsensical rhetoric by Trump.”
Sen. Rob Portman [R-OH]: “The fact that the judge has a Mexican American heritage has nothing to do with how you should describe his judicial ability. The guy was born in Indiana. He’s as American as I am.”
Rep. Jackie Walorski [R-IN]: “Questioning a judge’s impartiality based on his ethnicity is not only inappropriate, it has no place in American society.”
Speaker Paul Ryan [R-WI]: “Look, the comment about the judge the other day just was out of left field for my mind…It’s reasoning I don’t relate to. I completely disagree with the thinking behind that. And so, he clearly says and does things I don’t agree with, and I’ve had to speak up on time to time when that has occurred, and I’ll continue to do that if it’s necessary. I hope it’s not.”
Bloomberg: Republican Leaders Pile on Trump Over ‘Mexican’ Judge Attack: “Republican leaders are piling on presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump over his accusation that a U.S. federal judge is treating him unfairly because the judge is of Mexican ancestry.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-KY]: “I couldn’t disagree more” with Trump’s central argument, McConnell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Washington Post: Pushing racial boundaries, Trump draws rebuke from a fretful GOP: “Politicians and others across the ideological spectrum have rebuked Trump in the past for ‘dog whistle’ politics, or worse. In this case, the condemnations have been swift and cutting, as Republican leaders scramble to protect their party against charges that their presumptive presidential nominee is engaging in a racist attack against a sitting judge.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz [R-UT] (again): “The idea that you’re going to attack somebody based on their heritage, that you’re not going to get a fair ruling, I don’t think that resonates. I don’t believe in it and I think it is wrong of him to have said it.”
Florida Gov. Rick Scott: Scott was asked whether Trump’s comments about the “Mexican” judge in a case involving his university reflects racist views. Given a chance to defend Trump, Scott did not.”
Sen. Bob Corker [R-TN]: “Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, another potential running mate of Trump’s, said Sunday on ABC, “I don’t condone the comments and we can press on to another topic.”
Sen. Jeff Flake [R-AZ]: “His statements this week on the judge — that’s a new level…Because it’s not just…ill-informed or ignorant statements, but they suggest that when he’s president, you know, after November, that…perhaps he ought to go after that judge. That’s a whole new level. So that’s — it’s very disturbing.”
Ashley Bell, Republican Strategist & RNC Delegate: “To call out someone’s race, especially a judge, it’s uncalled for. I thought it was absolutely the wrong thing to do. And it brings into question when you’re president and have to deal with the judicial branch. You can’t call names and get things done. There’s a clear distinction in powers between the executive and the judicial branch. And this sends the wrong message. Donald Trump was absolutely wrong for calling out his ethnicity.”
John Weaver, former chief strategist for John Kasich: “Trump’s unwarranted and unhinged attacks on a fine American public servant are echoes from this nation’s demagogic past….There is no stopping him from being our nominee, sadly, but this type of racially charged rhetoric will ensure he is adrift and alone before he is defeated in November.”
Wall Street Journal, Editorial: Trump’s remarks were “reprehensible”: “Mr. Trump is attacking Judge Curiel in a personal business case, not a political one, and as a candidate for President we think he should be above this kind of pettiness. His implied threat against the judge if he becomes President is more obnoxious, though we doubt he could do much about it in office.”
Washington Post: Joe Scarborough just went off on Donald Trump’s ‘racism’: “Now it’s people that may have — what is it, one-16th Mexican blood? If you’ve got one-16th Mexican blood that maybe you can’t be a judge. One-16th Muslim blood? I mean, this is unbelievable. He is getting worse, not better.”
Ian Tuttle, The National Review: Trump’s Outrageous Attack on Judge Curiel: “The problem with Donald Trump, though (let me rephrase: one of the inexhaustibly many problems) is that his personal beefs become the ideological framework for hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Americans. In this latest instance, for example, Trump has implied that no law can be interpreted disinterestedly and applied dispassionately. There’s really no such thing as reason; there are only inescapable tribal prejudices.”
Susan Del Percio, Republican Strategist: “On top of them being wrong things to say and frankly they were racist things to say, they were also out of self-interest. He wasn’t using his bully pulpit to unite the party, he wasn’t using it to make America great, he was doing it for self interest. … This is about Donald Trump and wanting to win and not wanting to lose in court. And that’s a really disturbing turn as well, that this is taking, because he is saying — it’s not America first, it’s Donald Trump first.”
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, chief economic policy adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign: “The comments are wrong. They are unacceptable, and there is no upside to them. The only question is who will be damaged and how badly? Certainly Donald Trump’s candidacy will be damaged. He has hurt his standing among Hispanics.”
Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorney General under President George W. Bush: “I’m not supporting Donald Trump’s comments. … The call for a recusal of a judge based solely on ethnicity in my judgment is wrong and to do it publicly in my judgment demeans the judge and really does hurt the reputation of the judiciary and I just think it was inappropriate the way that Donald Trump did it in this case.”
Washington Post: Donald Trump’s attacks on judge once again put GOP lawmakers in a bind: “Donald Trump’s recent transition from outsider presidential candidate to presumptive Republican nominee has not made life any easier for GOP lawmakers, who continue to be forced to react to his every controversial comment — most recently, his attacks on the federal judge handling a case he is involved in.”
NY Daily News: Criticism grows over Trump’s comments about judge, as Democrats AND Republicans condemn mogul: “In a rare display of bipartisan harmony, Democrats and Republicans joined together Monday in rejecting Donald Trump’s comments about the ethnicity of a judge overseeing a class action suit against his shuttered university. Members of both parties derided the brash billionaire for his racist remarks on how U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel — who is presiding over an enormous fraud class action in a federal court in San Diego against Trump University — wouldn’t be fair in the case due to his “Mexican heritage.”
Steve Schmidt, Republican Strategist: On whether Paul Ryan is “all in” backing Trump: “I would disagree that they’re all in. I would say what they’re trying to do is walk down the yellow line in the middle of the highway, which is a great place to get run over from. … There is a political reckoning coming, unless and until Republican leaders are able to speak truth to power, if you will, be able to communicate to the American people.”The GOP leaders Clinton cited in her email ranged from those who support the New York businessman to others who have railed against him. The pitch also included columns from publications Trump has called unfair to him for their liberal bias.
Sen. Ben Sasse [R-NE]: “Saying someone can’t do a specific job because of his or her race is the literal definition of “racism.””
Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]: “Donald Trump’s comments on the ethnic heritage and religion of judges are absolutely unacceptable. His statement that Judge Curiel could not rule fairly because of his Mexican heritage does not represent our American values. Mr. Trump’s comments demonstrate both a lack of respect for the judicial system and the principle of separation of powers.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz [R-UT]: “I thin people are disturbed that you would want to try to dismiss a judge based on his ethnicity. You can have qualms with how he’s ruling in the case, you can have qualms about his political affiliation, I think that’s fair game. But why doesn’t he say, look it’s up to the attorneys, it’s in the court, and leave it at that?”
Clinton has increasingly gone after Trump as she gets closer to securing the Democratic nomination and officially focusing her attention on the general election.
