Donald Trump Rails Against Judge in Trump University Case
At his rally in San Diego on Friday, Donald Trump attacked the federal judge hearing a class-action lawsuit against Trump University, calling U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel "very hostile" and bringing up his ethnicity. The casein which plaintiffs have accused Trump of defrauding students through the now-defunct for-profit schoolis scheduled to go to trial in San Diego federal court on Nov. 28, according to the Wall Street Journal. "I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. He's a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel," Trump said during Friday's rally, inspiring boos from the crowd, the Journal reported. "He is not doing the right thing. And I figure, what the hell? Why not talk about it for two minutes?", Trump then spoke about the case for 12 minutes out of his 58 minute address, according to the paper. "We're in front of a very hostile judge," Trump said, before noting that Curiel was appointed by President Barack Obama and arguing that he should recuse himself from the case. Trump also made a point to tell supporters that Curiel was "Mexican.", "What happens is the judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine," Trump said. "I think the Mexicans are going to end up loving Donald Trump," he later added, according to the Washington Post. It wasn't the first time this week that Trump railed against a political or judicial rival on their home turf. At a rally in Albuquerque on Tuesday, Trump criticized New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association and the country's first Hispanic female governor, the New York Times reported. Martinez has been critical of Trump in the past and has not endorsed him. Several Republican leaders quickly came to her defense, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubioall of whom ran for president against Trump this year. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan also called her a "great governor" and a friend.