US Presidential Election 2016: Donald Trump says “it’s possible” Muslim judges would be biased against him
Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump isn't convinced he'd get a fair trial from a Muslim judge.
After last week having said that a judge's Mexican background should bar him from a lawsuit against him, Trump raised concerns that a Muslim judge wouldn't be able to stay neutral in a case against him.
Last week Trump criticised a federal judge in California by the name of Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University. Curiel had a "conflict of interest" due to Trump's desire to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, paid for by Mexico.
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Curiel ordered testimony and documents related to the suit to be released last week, which sparked Trump's comments. The university has been accused of defrauding students, as well as labelled "a total lie" by former employees.
"He’s a member of a club or society very strongly from Mexico, which is fine. But I say he’s got bias. I’m going to build a wall. I’m going to build a wall. I’m doing very well with the Latinos, with the Hispanics, with the Mexicans, I’m doing very well with them, in my opinion," Trump said.
Following that, in an interview with CBS, when asked if a Muslim judge would also be biased, due to Trump's call for a blanket ban on Muslims entering the US, the billionaire said: "It's possible, yes. Yeah. That would be possible. Absolutely."
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The series of comments are not going to ease relations with the Republican establishment, which had appeared to warm slightly to the property magnate after House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed him.
However, there are lingering concerns that Trump would be wiped out in a one-on-one with Hillary Clinton as he would not be able to appeal to such large segments of society – such as Hispanics, Muslims and women.
Yesterday Hillary Clinton moved closer to securing the Democrat nomination after claiming Puerto Rico.