Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ana Navarro excoriated Donald Trump on Friday for attacking a judge with Mexican heritage who is presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University.
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday, Trump doubled down on his criticism that U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel was biased against him because of his tough policy proposals against Mexico and illegal immigration.
Curiel last week ordered parts of internal documents, including “playbooks” regarding running the enterprise, to be released as part of a lawsuit against Trump University in response to a request by The Washington Post.
Navarro said the presumptive GOP presidential nominee was merely trying to distract from misconduct by the now-defunct school.
“It is highly offensive as a Hispanic. What he is doing is wagging the dog,” Navarro told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “How dare he. How dare he question a judge’s responsibility, a judge’s adherence to the Constitution, because he is of Mexican descent? This man was born in East Chicago. He is an American citizen. He is just as American as Donald Trump.”
She continued: “Mexican-Americans bleed, just as any other American, when they go to war. They bled just as any other American on 9/11. They fight for America. They are Americans. And what he is doing is disgusting. I am livid about it, and if this is his strategy to win over Hispanics, he’s got a hell of a wake-up call coming to him come November.”
Navarro, who backed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, said she doesn’t currently have a candidate to support. She replied “hell, no” when asked if she’d vote for likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
