Elections

Paul Ryan calls Trump’s claim about judge ‘the textbook definition of a racist comment’

By Kate Irby

kirby@mcclatchy.com

June 07, 2016 10:58 AM

Speaker Paul Ryan says he disavows Donald Trump's recent comments about a judge. He said they were "sort of the textbook definition of a racist comment." He also added that Trump was still better than Hillary Clinton.

Paul Ryan wants Trump to disavow his comments about the Trump University judge, but he’s not going to pull his endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate.

The Republican Speaker of the House did not mince words Tuesday, saying Trump’s comment was racist. Trump has been criticized for saying a judge presiding over two of three lawsuits against Trump and Trump University has an “inherent conflict of interest” because of his Mexican heritage and Trump’s plans to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

May 30, 2016
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“Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment,” Ryan said during a press conference Tuesday. “I think that should be absolutely disavowed, it’s absolutely unacceptable. But do I believe that Hillary Clinton is the answer? No, I do not.”

Judge Gonzalo Curiel was born in Indiana and his parents emigrated from Mexico. Trump has said any other judge would’ve ruled for Trump in summary judgment, but Curiel has allowed the case to go forward. The Washington Post rated that statement completely untrue.

Many politicians have condemned Trump’s comments, but he’s shown no sign of disavowing them.

Ryan said the comments didn’t change his endorsement of Trump, because he still thought Trump was a better option than Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

“I believe we have more common ground on the policy issues of the day, and we have more likelihood of getting our policies enacted with him than we do with her,” Ryan said.

Ryan added that the thinking behind the comments isn’t something he can “even personally relate to” and he won’t defend them.