HAS TRUMP GOING AFTER THE DISTRICT JUDGE GONE TOO FAR?

…The demonstration that got out-of-hand in San Jose

 

Will the Trump U case take “The Donald” down?

 

As with many political observers, I was surprised when throughout his campaign, Trump seemed immune as he has repeatedly survived, even thrived, after making controversial statements.  It didn’t matter that he called the former president, George W. Bush a liar who took the country to war under false pretenses.  Then he withstood saying that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), was not a Vietnam war hero because he had been shot down and captured.  (Trump only likes hero’s that were not captured.)

 

But Trump may have finally crossed that line that his supporters have finally had enough.

 

For more than a week, Trump has continually cited the Mexican heritage of US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing the lawsuit brought on by former students of Trump University.  These individual are alleging fraud against Trump U as a false educational institution.

 

But Trump is accusing Judge Curiel of a conflict-of-interest in his hearing of the case because, according to Trump’s bazaar reasoning, the judge’s Mexican heritage has put him at odds with Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the US-Mexican border.

 

Even though the judge has not publicly expressed an opinion about Trump’s proposed wall, when asked to explain why he believed the judge was being biased, Trump just says, “He’s a Mexican.”

 

Due to these answers, many of those Republican leaders that had finally gotten on-board the “Trump Train”, they are now going after those improper accusations against the US District Judge.

 

“I don’t know what Trump’s reasoning is, and I don’t care,” said former House speaker Newt Gingrich.  Gingrich had previously been very supportive of Trump.  But the former House Speaker said in an email. “His description of the judge in terms of his parentage is completely unacceptable.”

 

Many Republican politicians across their ideological spectrum have rebuked Trump in the past for his “dog whistle” politics, or worse. In this case, the hits on Trump have been swift and cutting, as those Republican leaders do all they can to protect their party.  But how do you protect your organization when the new presumptive party leader is presenting a racist attack against a sitting district judge.  And the attack that has absolutely no basis in fact.

 

The truth is that Judge Curiel is an American.  He was born in 1953 in Indiana to parents who were of Mexican descent.  Other than his parents heritage, there is nothing to support Trump’s accusations that the judges is being biased in the case.

 

Oh, don’t get me wrong.  It is very true that the Trump U case isn’t going very well on Trump’s behalf.

 

Many pieces of information have come out that show that his so called university was warned more than once that they were not an authorized educational organization and were to stop using the name “University” in their name.

 

The original university statements were that Donald Trump had personally selected the Trump University instructors.  But the head of the university has said in a deposition that Trump had never selected the instructors.  In fact, Donald Trump seldom even visited the organization for more than 15-20 minutes at a time.  Instead of presenting the “Diplomas” or the “Certificates of Completion” to the attendees at the end of the sessions, the students had their picture taken with a life-size card-board picture of Mr. Trump.

 

There is now serious concern within the Republican party that Trump is pursuing a strategy, if you can actually call it a “strategy”, that could have some ­longer-term negative consequences for the country and specifically for the GOP.

 

For the first time in decades, the 2016 presidential campaign is being played out with growing racial, ethnic and cultural tensions. Violence is increasing at Trump rallies and there is serious concern that something very bad could occur at the up-coming Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

Those tensions flared again last week in San Jose, California, where it pitted angry anti-Trump demonstrators, many of them Hispanics, against the candidate’s equally passionate, mostly white supporters.

 

Actually, the whole episode was very poorly planned by the Trump campaign.

 

Here in a highly Democratic city where the rally was held across from a Hispanic town park just a few blocks from the state university. 

 

This was the location that the Trump organization chose for Trump to have his large rally where he made his negative comments against the Hispanic American district judge.  Now, how stupid was that?

 

Did they really think that was a smart move in a California city of 1 million people where the white population is in the minority and Hispanics and Asians are the majority…?

 

Trump’s whole candidacy has been fueled mainly over illegal immigration and by his rhetoric that began on the opening day of his candidacy.  That was when he said many of those coming to the United States from Mexico illegally were “rapists, . . . murderers” and criminals”.

 

Later on, after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., Trump then called for a ban on all Muslims seeking to enter the country.  He said that this was only until the federal government could put in place a more effective system for background screening.  But, anyone with a bit of commonsense knows that isn’t going to happen.  That would be against everything that is about this country and what its Constitution stands for.

 

After Hillary’s highly effective speech where she called Trump out by calmly using his own words to vilify and mock some of his most ridiculous statements, Trump then loudly denied Hillary’s charge that he had launched a racist attack against the judge.

 

But one day later, the Republican House Speaker, Paul Ryan (R-WI), denounced Trump during an interview with a local radio station in his home state.  Ryan said Trump’s accusations against the judge had come “completely out of left field,” adding, “It’s reasoning I don’t relate to. I completely disagree with the thinking behind that.”

 

The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) then criticized Trump for his earlier attack on New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.  The whole issue is now getting bigger than anyone had imagined. Some Republicans are expressing their concern that Trump’s language and behavior are permanently alienating Hispanics from the Republican Party. 

 

It has gotten to the point that Trump’s comments, which he has continued to repeat against the judge, is getting totally out of control.  Some within the GOP are afraid that, as it was way back in 1964, when the Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act helped turn African Americans into the most loyal voting block ever for the Democratic coalition.  As usual, Trump said he wasn't going to mention the judge and the case again, but less than 24 hours later, he was again talking about the case and the judge.

 

Because of Trump’s vicious attacks against the Hispanic judge, could it have a similar negative effect with the Hispanic population against the Republican Party?

 

Newt Gingrich issued a warning to the presumptive GOP nominee to stop freelancing and begin listening to advisers about how to run his general-election campaign. “If Trump doesn’t start consulting and coordinating with his allies, he will not have any,” Gingrich wrote in the email.

 

But Trump’s rhetoric is a personal attack on a federal judge that offers an “un-presidential” disrespect for the legal process. This will not help his candidacy.”

 

And now it’s gotten worse.  While campaigning in California, Trump pointed at one black person in the audience and said, “Look at my African American over here.”  Now, where did that come from?

 

Trump was later pressed repeatedly by CNN’s Jake Tapper to explain the link between the fact that Judge Curiel’s parents were Mexican immigrants and the judge’s ability to handle the case involving Trump University. “I’ve been treated very unfairly by this judge,” Trump said, but did not explain what the was unfair. “Now, this judge is of Mexican heritage. I’m building a wall, okay? I’m building a wall.”  That was all that Trump said about it.

 

Trump continued to spar with Tapper, who eventually said, “If you are saying he can’t do his job because of his race, is that not the definition of racism?” Trump replied, “No, I don’t think so at all.”

 

If Mr. Trump thinks his comment about the district judge isn’t the absolute definition of ”racism”, he needs to buy a dictionary..

 

But instead, Trump continues to go where no major-party nominee in has ever gone.  But has he now finally gone too far?

 

Copyright G.Ater  2016