Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump has come under fire of late for saying the judge in the Trump University case, Gonzalo Curiel, is biased against him because of his Mexican heritage.
Criticism has been stern, even from some Trump supporters like former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. But rather than walk back his comments, Trump is ordering campaign surrogates to double down on them and said his campaign staffers who had suggested otherwise were “stupid.”
On a conference call with campaign surrogates, Trump responded to reports of a memo sent to supporters asking them not to talk about the issues by saying, “Take that order and throw it the hell out.”
Bloomberg Politics reports the memo was written by campaign staffer Erica Freeman, whom Trump said he did not know.
“Are there any other stupid letters that were sent to you folks?” Trump reportedly asked. “That’s one of the reasons I want to have this call, because you guys are getting sometimes stupid information from people that aren’t so smart.”
Trump then set his sights on journalists asking questions about his comments. “The people asking the questions—those are the racists. I would go at ’em,” Trump said.
Freeman’s memo read, in part, “The best possible response is ‘the case will be tried in the courtroom in front of a jury—not in the media,” according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg.