Paul Ryan Says Trump’s Attack on Judge Is ‘Textbook’ Racism, but Still Supports Him
One Republican after another is coming out to denounce Donald Trump’s ugly attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel; the latest is House Speaker Paul Ryan, who today called Trump’s comments “textbook racism.”
But like the other GOP politicians who’ve made it clear they understand Trump is a noxious bigot playing to a degraded base of far right voters, Ryan is still supporting him for president. Power is the overriding Republican imperative, and if that means supporting someone who uses rhetoric straight out of the Ku Klux Klan era, so be it.
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan strongly disavowed Donald Trump’s allegations of bias against a Hispanic judge, calling such remarks the “textbook definition of a racist comment,” even as he reiterated his support for Trump’s White House bid.
Ryan, speaking at an event to unveil U.S. House Republicans’ policy proposals, said the comments by the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee were unacceptable and indefensible.
“I regret those comments that he made. Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment. I think that should be absolutely disavowed,” Ryan told reporters.
Nonetheless, Ryan said that a Trump presidency would be preferable to a White House occupied by Democrat Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee.
