Donald Trump surrogate Ben Carson is defending the presumed Republican presidential nominee from his comments over Indiana-born Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s Mexican heritage.
“He was probably talking out loud rather than thinking. That’s not a good thing to do when everything you say is going to be analyzed,” Carson told Politico in an interview published Friday.
Trump has not publicly apologized for the remarks, but rather has said they were “misconstrued.”
But Carson said Trump told him during a private meeting at Trump Tower that he knows he was wrong to make those comments.
“He fully recognizes that that was not the right thing to say,” Carson explained.
Last week, Trump said Curiel — the judge presiding over his civil fraud lawsuit — has an “absolute conflict” overseeing the case because of his “Mexican heritage.” Curiel is Indiana-born, but has Mexican parents.
Since then, Trump has faced backlash for the comments, especially from members of the GOP.
Trump also commented on a Muslim judge recently, saying he may not be fair either because of Trump’s policy to ban Muslim entry into the United States.
According to Carson, Trump is not a racist but rather is just spilling his thoughts. And he is starting to recognize the effect his comments can have.
“He’s coming to that understanding,” Carson said. “I think he will change it, by necessity — just the natural evolution of moving from the primary to the main event is going to necessitate a change.”
Carson also asserted that Republicans have to stay behind Trump, despite a record of inflammatory comments. House Speaker Paul Ryan, for example, called Trump’s comments “textbook” racism.
“You know what I say to people who say that? I say, what’s the alternative?” Carson told Politico. “Look at where we are as a nation right now. We are moving full speed ahead on the progressive train, heading off the cliff. I mean, somebody 30 years ago, if you tried to describe America today, they would say, ‘get out of here.’ Are we going to continue on that train? Or do we want to get back to the more traditional values.”
“Now, does that mean that I agree with everything Donald Trump does?” he added. “Of course it doesn’t.”
