Donald Trump on Tuesday said Republicans who are critical of his comments against a federal judge with Mexican heritage “have to get over it” and “they shouldn’t be so angry for so long.”
“Some of the Republicans — and in all fairness, they’re some of the people that I went through war with, and I won, and there’s a lot of — there’s a lot of anxiety there,” he said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
A chorus of Republicans — several of whom are up for re-election this year — and some of Trump’s former opponents have called him out for questioning the impartiality of U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University.
Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan argued that Trump’s comments amounted to “the textbook definition of a racist comment.”
Asked about criticism from his own party, Trump acknowledged, “There’s a lot of anger.”
“They can’t get over it,” Trump told Hannity. “So they have to get over it, ideally. As to whether or not they endorse me? It’s OK if they don’t. But they have to get over it. They shouldn’t be so angry for so long.”
Trump last week alleged that Curiel might have an “inherent conflict of interest” because of his Mexican ancestry as the billionaire calls for tougher immigration policies and new trade agreements with Mexico.
Trump has vociferously denied that his attacks are motivated by racism. On Tuesday, he released a statement in which he sought to quell the intensifying criticism, saying his remarks had been “misconstrued.”