Ryan: Trump made ‘textbook definition of a racist comment’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In answer to a reporter’s question, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. said Donald Trump’s comments about an American-born judge of Mexican heritage are the “textbook definition of a racist comment,” during a news conference about his agenda to relieve poverty in America, today, in Washington. But Ryan, who endorsed Trump only last week after a lengthy delay, went on to say: “But do I believe Hillary Clinton is the answer? No, I do not.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiled as he left after speaking at a July 10 news conference about immigration, in Beverly Hills, Calif. California Democrats hope to cash in at the polls against Republican members of Congress considered vulnerable to Latino sentiment against Trump.
WASHINGTON » House Speaker Paul Ryan said today that Donald Trump made the “textbook definition of a racist comment” in saying an American-born judge isn’t qualified to preside over a case because of his Mexican heritage.
“I regret those comments 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,” Ryan said at a news conference. “I think that should be absolutely disavowed. It’s absolutely unacceptable.”
Ryan’s comments highlight acute GOP divisions around Trump’s candidacy, as Republicans squirm over what may be the billionaire’s most incendiary stance to date — the claim that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel can’t preside over his case fairly because the judge is of Mexican heritage and Trump wants to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
The flap comes as Republicans are struggling to close ranks behind Trump, and complicates those efforts. Ryan endorsed Trump only last week after a lengthy delay, just before the judge controversy lit up, and affirmed that stance anew today even while he was unstinting in his criticism of Trump’s comments on the judge. “But do I believe Hillary Clinton is the answer? No, I do not,” he said.
“I believe that 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. “But I do absolutely disavow those comments, I think they’re wrong, I think they’re wrongheaded, and the thinking behind it is something I don’t even personally relate to.”
Democrats immediately ridiculed Ryan for denouncing Trump’s comments as racist yet continuing to back his candidacy.
“Paul Ryan continues to endorse someone who spews racist rhetoric — the ‘textbook definition’ of a coward more concerned with partisan politics than the good of the country,” said Meredith Kelly, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Curiel, who is presiding over a case alleging that Trump University fleeced students, was born in Indiana to parents who came from Mexico in the 1940s. Trump has been questioned repeatedly about his stance that the judge’s ethnicity makes him unqualified to preside over his case, but has refused to retract his comments, and may not be any more likely to do so in response to Ryan’s complaints.
Ryan made his comments at an event in a low-income neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where he was unveiling new proposals to fight poverty, the first piece in a six-plank governing agenda by the House GOP.
But instead of discussing his poverty proposals he was forced to deal with numerous questions on Trump, illustrating anew Trump’s tendency to create troublesome distractions for members of his own party. The flap over the judge is proving particularly problematic and leading Republicans have taken turns denouncing Trump’s comments.
While some others have sought to avoid calling Trump or his comments out-and-out racist, Ryan leveled the charge matter-of-factly while still attempting to steer the conversation back to his agenda.
“I’m going to defend our ideas, I’m going to defend our majority, and I think our likelihood of getting these ideas into law are far more likely if we are unified as a party,” Ryan said. “And so I see it as my job as speaker of the House to help keep our party unified. I think if we go into the fall as a divided party, we are going to lose, and that’s why I am going to be focused on these ideas and these solutions and not attempt to defend the indefensible.”
82 responses to “Ryan: Trump made ‘textbook definition of a racist comment’”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Ryan bowed low to Trump months ago as have most of the disgraced Republican leaders. They should have denounced Trump’s crude, racist statements and lack of readiness to serve as president of a great country. They tried to avoid him and now they are plagued by an unstable, dangerously unprepared man. Republicans deserve their infamy.
Wow! I can’t believe that I actually agree with Allie for once. It was concise and well thought out. Great comment.
Many ultimately see my wisdom 🙂
Wisdom has equal parts honesty and humility, you have neither–fafa troll.
One could have looked at Obama in 2007 when he was running for President and also say that he too was not prepared in geo-political matters and even less prepared to negotiate deals with world leaders. In regards to racist comments, we all notice other people’s race and ascribe certain patterns in behavior and personalities characteristics to certain races. Trump is playing on that by saying things to tap into those emotions that he knows so many voters have. So not sure he’s crude, unstable, and dangerous, as much as Trump thinks he is trying to manipulate the audience he is directing those comments at.
Obama has made many racists comments that were equally bad. Obama and many others have said that blacks can’t get justice from white police or white juries or judges. Problem is that when blacks call whites “racist” it doesn’t register. But when a white calls anyone racist, there’s an earthquake.
It’s been rpoven that there have been excessive abuses from police throughout the country.
Interesting that members of his party has said his statement was racist but they continue to back him. I guess it is okay for Ryan and company (Republican Party) to back a racist for President.
hiliar will be the first female felon arrested while campaigning for president. hiliar promoted arresting and extending prison terms for “super predators” the p.c. term for inner city black youths. hiliar ran interference for bill throughout his predatory rapes and sexual assaults.
democrats are not even embarrassed nominating a racist defender of rape for president, again.
If you actually knew anything, you would know a felon cannot be the president of the United States. If Hilary becomes the prez. it means she’s met all requirements to be one. Just as all you nutjobs couldn’t keep Obama out of office with the “birther” nonsense, it’ll also not keep Hilary out of office with your “felony” nonsense. As for being embarrassed, it doesn’t embarrass you that you’re supporting a racist? Obviously not.
the requirements for president are set forth in the u.s. constitution, article 2, section 1, paragraph 5. read it. also, learn what a felon is. then learn what a convicted felon is.
the u.s. constitution, article 2, section 4 provides for removal of a president, vice president and all civil officers upon conviction for felony and misdemeanor crimes.
finally, i do not support trump and have in many comments suggested that republicans promote another candidate via a brokered convention. the embarrassment is not mine, but yours. yet, you are incapable of embarrassment.
A guy who don’t understand the basic facts of how justice system in the US works – that’s an embarrassment.
“A guy who don’t”– that’s an embarrassment.
Obama is a racist. Bother you?
You’re lying of course. But keep trying that if you think it will help your fabricated argument.
He’s lying or he’s ignorant of the law. Probably both. There was no crime, and there will be no arrest.
Dream on….
This man is a leader of his party? You can’t say that he made a text book racist statement and then say…but i’m okay with supporting him and not come across as weak, a sell-out and most important without integrity. Just no.
Who said Trump is leader of the GOP?
He’s the person the GOP chose to represent them for the highest office in the land, and now they have a hard time dealing with it since it’s pretty much too late for them to do anything about it.
agree
His talking about Ryan. He is a leader as the Speaker of the House. Republicans did this to themselves. Full of hatred and Anger. This party publically came out and said they will do everything to deny obama, like spoiled rotten children. Now live in your filth.
agree and Republicans have been playing a Southern Strategy and racially coded language since Nixon. It cynically worked but the public or some of the public-are catching on to how they got played.
Honuponu is talking about Ryan, not Trump as being the leader of his party.
We don’t even know what Trump is — a Democrat or a Republican? Is he intentionally throwing the race and handing it to Clinton?
He probably made a one dollar bet with Bill Clinton before he declared his candidacy that he could take down the entire GOP establishment all by himself. Trump is a master showman and isn’t as crazy as we all think he is.
It’s more troubling that Ryan still is sticking with his endorsement even though he disagrees with pretty much everything that Trump says. Shows that a politician is willing to sell their souls even though they know they will pay for it tenfold later if Trump becomes the president, and Ryan probably would be the first person that Trump purges after he comes into power.
How exactly would Trump go about removing Ryan?
http://www.redstate.com/diary/ArchTriumph/2016/03/28/donald-trump-fits-historical-pattern-dictator/
I wasn’t aware our congress consulted with “Redstate” prior to electing their in house leadership. Besides, using an opinion sourced from such a biased publication is no more credible than using one from “Mother Jones”…
hawaiikone, it’s not that far off.
Dictators hate equal treatment under the law as it allows their critics freedom. They also hate the ability of people to show their corruption, unethical behavior and other unscrupulous things.
Who has demonstrated decades long hatred for free speech, free press and equal treatment under the law?
Trump. Why do you think Trump is doubling down on attacking that Judge? Because he hates an independent judiciary he cannot control.
Choyd, that still fails to explain the legal procedures Trump would need to follow in order to have Ryan “purged”. Few would dispute Trump’s obvious inability to fairly govern, yet as I have mentioned before, his very absurdity presents a far less difficult challenge to control through our inherent system of checks and balances than does a Hillary presidency. From a purely “the less of two evils” point of view, I’d have to go with Trump. As you mention below. we should focus more on encouraging support for Johnson, the viable option we do have compared to the rotten ones we’re endlessly arguing about.
The sad truth is that we hear racist comments everyday to which there is no opposition. Blacks and other minorities are welcome to make racist comments against whites and their comments are just taken as “truth.”
But, if a white person expresses concern that they are being treated unfairly by a minority — all hell breaks loose. Blacks and liberals now own the definition of racist. If they agree with the comment/statement, it is not racist. If they oppose the comment, it is racist. This result is a huge loss of liberty and freedom.
You are ignorant. Its not racist if there is an oppressed and an oppressor.
All hope is gone that the present slide of USA can be stopped. Hillary can not be stopped because Trump is self-destroying. This election has no good choice left.
If we continue this fruitless back and forth until November we will indeed elect a clown, whether it be Trump or Hillary. Better to begin encouraging others to get out of the “stupid” box and vote Johnson.
If we continue debating, in increasingly caustic terms, who is less qualified to become president, all the way until November, we shall indeed elect a clown. Better to begin now encouraging one another to get out of the R or D box and commit our votes to Johnson.
I guess the SA changed their “minds” and released my first comment despite it containing “stupid”….
Johnson-Weld has more managing experience than both the Trump and Hillary tickets combined with an emphasis on defense of Civil liberties, pro-liberty, smaller government and less capricious use of the military. Couple that with women and minority pragmatic friendly stances along with actual self made business competency and a desire to end the failed drug war, and that’s a winning ticket once they get on the debate stage.
Johnson-Weld is one of the best tickets America has seen in years.
I don’t agree with everything those two plan, but I agree with them way more than I do with corrupt Hillary and certainly more than I do with Donald “I Hate The Constitution” Trump.
With the Liberterian nomination, there is no reason to vote for either Trump or Hillary.
Trump should keep some of his personal opinions to himself. A lot share his views but bite their tongues.
Racism has always been with us and will always be with us. Even in Africa, marrying someone darker than yourself, are frowned upon.
Keep your not-politically-correct views to yourself folks.
I have to respectfully disagree. The American public deserves to hear Trump’s personal opinions; he is, after all a candidate for president.
So you’re saying that he’s a racist, but should just keep that disgrace to himself?
Mexican is not even a “race” , so it is not even a racist comment, it is just a desperate try to get rid of the judge.
Yes, of course. Do you sit in the sun a lot?
Trump seems to have a really thin skin. He lashes out at people on a whim, attacking the governor of new mexico, a judge, I guess he will go after Ryan next. I would agree with advertiser1, h is personal opinions are very relevant.
A man does not file lawsuits over journalists reporting his actual wealth if a man does not have a paper thin skin.
A man does not spend hours on Twitter attacking celebrities if a man does not have a paper thin skin.
A man does not threaten his fellow nominee candidate with a lawsuit over frivolous things if a man does not have a paper thin skin.
A man does not lash out at an actual self made millionaire for reasonable positions if a man does not have a paper thin skin.
A man does not attack the integrity of the court while his own lawyers refute him if a man does not have a paper thin skin.
All nice observations…
boolakanaka, now read it in Jaqen H’ghar’s voice.
“What is a girl’s name?”
“A girl has no name”
No conservative, tea party’er or republican had to say anything about Trump’s comments. But you have conservatives, Republicans, and Tea Party leaders issuing press statements blasting Trump’s racist comments and the way he is campaigning to ruin the party and conservative causes. These are extremely strong statements that are aimed at hitting hard against Trump and hurting his campaign. I think this means that leaders in the GOP, tea party, and conservative movement are signaling that we should not vote for Trump and vote for Hillary instead.
“Public Service Announcement: Saying someone can’t do a specific job because of his or her race is the literal definition of “racism.”” – Ben Sasse, (R) Nebraska, Twitter.
Ryan said. “And so I see it as my job as speaker of the House to help keep our party unified.” That is WRONG, Mr. Ryan. Your job as Speaker of the House is not to your party, but to the House as a whole and, in turn, to the United States of America. Your job is not to simply be concerned about those who rally behind the Republican agenda (from Trump all the way down), but to every single American citizen in this country.
“The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and ahead of the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.[3] Unlike some Westminster system parliaments, in which the office of Speaker is considered non-partisan, in the United States, the Speaker of the House is a leadership position and the office-holder actively works to set the majority party’s legislative agenda. The Speaker usually does not personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to members of the House from the majority party. The Speaker usually does not participate in debate and rarely votes.” Think again..
ryan and the repubs supporting trumpy are foolish. they are so blinded by party politics, they are willing to risk America’s greatness by having a ignorant and bigot president. trumpy will not get anything accomplished because very few in congress like him and his outrageous policies, in fact, the will cause problems worldwide with his economic and foreign policies. and he might even be impeached for lack of ability.
Ryan said that Trump’s comments about Curiel “came out of left field”! Really? That excuse is laughably outrageous. Pretending that the last year of blatant racism, misogyny, and bigotry from Trump never happened is just not plausible. Ryan has destroyed his credibility, if he ever had any. Republican “leaders” are issuing tepid rejections of Trump’s racist comments, but yet they’re still standing behind him, exposing the fundamental moral and intellectual bankruptcy of their party. If there weren’t real and frightening consequences to putting the fate of the country and the world in the unstable hands of Trump, the epitome of narcissistic personality disorder, then we could all laugh at the Republican Party’s “Springtime For Hitler” moment.
Once again, Trumps biggest challenger is Trump’s mouth.
Said the exact same thing yesterday. HiLiar will become the next President of the US. Wonder of she and the hubby are going to set up another own “home-brew” email server in some kid’s bathroom as Pres. Either that or buy 1,000 throw away cell phones and say or text whatever they want. Is Bill going to have is own section in the Whitehouse that will allow him proper privacy for all his “interviews” with the young interns? He is kind of skinny now so maybe his tastes have changed from the cherubic Monica to the more athletic type like General Petraus’ mistress?
Can Romney still run as a third party candidate? Yes, he made many boo boos the first time around but I think he learned his lesson and I will vote for him. He is also Utah white but he had a daughter who adopted an African American infant and Romney did not disown her so he is at least tolerant. Unlike Trump that if any of his children married a non-Caucasian or adopted an African American, Hispanic or Asian child he would disown his child and say some really choice words, kind of like when someone recorded Dog the Bounty hunter talking about his daughter’s African American boyfriend.
What, exactly, can Mitt Romney accomplish by running for president as a third-party candidate that he didn’t accomplish as a Republican the last time, other than guaranteeing a Hillary Clinton victory in November?
It’d be a serious underestimation to think Trump and his campaign haven’t learned any lessons from Romney’s defeat. I think once Trump convinced himself he might actually win the White House, he made up his mind not to mimic Romney’s campaign in any way, shape, or form. Say what you will about making unscripted remarks and yes, even voicing racist or bigoted opinions, but Romney committed neither sin and look where it got him.
Should Trump prevail over his opponents in the fall, then we might witness an administration no better or worse than Lyndon Johnson’s. After all, despite possessing crude, racist and bigoted beliefs himself, the U.S. witnessed more positive civil rights advancement under his watch than in any previous administration. Without doubt JFK’s assassination put him there, but contemporary historians now tend to conclude that while Johnson was naive in many things (which led to the massive escalation of the Vietnam War), his aspirations were noble. Like maybe Donald Trump, Lyndon Johnson felt that playing dirty politics was just a means to accomplish worthy ends. Johnson was just a bit more private about it, and kept his dirty thoughts mostly to himself.
Hilary will be better suited as president than Trump. The entire world is watching.
I see you like he pant suit. She does look good in a tent made by Omar.
Cracker logic from a good ol cracker….
You may pick up the crumbs. The censor will get you again. Some never learn.
boolakanaka, Sarge hates Hillary more than he loves his own freedom.
What censor….?? Never been censored once, I want giving a psa that we have a cracker on board….that’s helpful information.
That cracker comment you recently made suddenly disappeared. Somebody did it. A man does not spend time attacking crackers if a man does not have a paper thin skin. Back at ya kanak.
Why don’t you two bring yourselves up a couple of levels and call each other doo-doo heads?
Hillary doesn’t really have to do any campaigning. Just give Trump more rope and he figures out how to hang himself.
At this point the only thing that need to be done is pull the lever for the trap door. lol
Paul Ryan is simply following the Republican playbook that has worked for them since Nixon pioneered the “southern strategy” — being deeply and transparently racist, while, at the same time, spouting transparently insincere denials. After a party convention, nominees and their campaigns attach great importance to the symbolism of the first campaign event following the nomination. Reagan chose to hold his first post-nomination rally in Neshoba County Mississippi, a location known for only one thing, the slaughter of three civil rights workers, (Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner), and he gave a speech about “states’ rights” to a cheering crowd. If you’re not sure what the Republican code words “states’ rights” mean, here’s Lee Atwater’s explanation: “You start out in 1954 by saying, “N___er, n___er, n___er.” By 1968 you can’t say “n___er”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “N___er, n___er.””
All of these guys are saying “Oh my, how terrible,” but they are still endorsing the guy. Hey you endorse him you stand by him. What he stands for is what you stand for. You can’t have it both ways.
Well, yes you can. It is possible to publicly endorse a leader or figurehead while having privately held reservations about his or her character or ability. Whether it’s a Donald Trump or a Hillary Clinton, a person backs the candidate that can accomplish more of what he believes in. It’s called compromise.
GOP Senator Mark Kirk, alone among Republicans, showed the principles that Ryan lacks when he unendorsed Trump, saying, “I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for president…given my military experience, Donald Trump does not have the temperament to command our military or our nuclear arsenal.”
trumpy’s current behavior will cause the repubs to lose the general election. the repub leaders should continue the pressure on trump so that he will resign the nomination and then they can select a “normal” candidate. this is the only way the repubs can win the presidential election in November. more and more people are being repulsed by trump’s antics and immature public behavior.
Baloney. Just a bump in the long road.
The last time we were burdened by a presidential campaign season, Mitt Romney’s behavior was neither crude nor immature. Did he win? If Donald Trump is serious about winning the White House, can he really be faulted for not rerunning a demonstrably failed strategy? Maybe Donald Trump is as crazy as his public persona would lead you to think. Or maybe, just maybe, he’s as crazy as a fox.
the republicans got themselves an archie bunker and the GOP is imploding.
Archie for President.
National Review staff writer David French, who was promoted by Bill Kristol as an alternative to Trump, said that his family received threats from the Trump camp (“An individual calls — he says, ‘I’m sorry, but I’ve been asked by the Trump campaign to make sure that David knows this will be really, really bad for him’”). “I have been up against Trump for some time, and the assaults on my family have been overwhelming just as a writer,” French said. “As everyone knows, Trump has an online racist mob that he often stokes by retweeting some of these horrible white supremacists. As that online racist mob is fond of pointing out, I have a multiracial family, and so they have gone after my youngest daughter in the worst way imaginable.”
Who is waving the Mexican flags at the Trump rallies. Who is burning the American flags at the Trump rallies? Who is rioting at the Trump rallies? Who supports illegal immigrants. La Raza. Viva Mexico. Who’s the racist?
Trump is. Obviously. Don’t you read the newspapers?
Commenting on Republicans who have criticized him for racist comments, Trump said, “they have to get over it.” Ironic that Scalia said the same thing in response about Democrats who were critical of the Supreme Court when it elected George Bush.
meant to write “in response to Democrats”