A lot of senators who say they don't agree with Trump's racial theory of the judiciary are holding a Supreme Court seat vacant for him.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 5, 2016
If this dude wasn’t the presumptive presidential nominee of one of the two major parties right now, I swear this would be a ‘let’s talk about taking Gramp’s checkbook and car keys away before something terrible happens’ incident. As described at Bloomberg Politics [warning: autoplay]:
An embattled Donald Trump urgently rallied his most visible supporters to defend his attacks on a federal judge’s Mexican ancestry during a conference call on Monday in which he ordered them to question the judge’s credibility and impugn reporters as racists.
“We will overcome,” Trump said, according to two supporters who were on the call and requested anonymity to share their notes with Bloomberg Politics. “And I’ve always won and I’m going to continue to win. And that’s the way it is.”
There was no mention of apologizing or backing away from his widely criticized remarks about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing cases against the Trump University real-estate program.
When former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer interrupted the discussion to inform Trump that his own campaign had asked surrogates to stop talking about the lawsuit in an e-mail on Sunday, Trump repeatedly demanded to know who sent the memo, and immediately overruled his staff.
“Take that order and throw it the hell out,” Trump said.
Told the memo was sent by Erica Freeman, a staffer who circulates information to surrogates, Trump said he didn’t know her. He openly questioned how the campaign could defend itself if supporters weren’t allowed to talk.
“Are there any other stupid letters that were sent to you folks?” Trump said. “That’s one of the reasons I want to have this call, because you guys are getting sometimes stupid information from people that aren’t so smart.”
Brewer, who was on the call with prominent Republicans like Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, interjected again. “You all better get on the page,” she told him….
When former AZ Gov. Jan Brewer is your voice of reason & moderation, well…it’s time to find some leftover from a prior GOP administration who’ll speak for the dark side. In the Washington Post, Alberto R. Gonzales, WH counsel & U.S. attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, “Trump has a right to ask if Judge Gonzalo Curiel is fair”:
…[S]ome have said that Trump’s criticism of the judge reflects on his qualifications to be president. If the criticism is solely based on Curiel’s race, that is something voters will take into account in deciding whether he is fit to be president. If, however, Trump is acting from a sincere motivation to protect his constitutional right to a fair trial, his willingness to exercise his rights as an American citizen and raising the issue even in the face of severe criticism is surely also something for voters to consider…
Trump’s not different or worse than prior Republican presidents; he’s just more overt.
Trump/Gonzales 2016: This Year, Why Not The Worst? https://t.co/5Fk1apL3WG
— (((Daniel Drezner))) (@dandrezner) June 5, 2016
Late Night Open Thread: Trump Doubles Down on Defending the IndefensiblePost + Comments (202)