Donald Trump Warned by GOP Leaders to Stop Attacking Latino Voters
Even top Republican leaders have seemingly had enough.
Several media outlets are reporting top GOP officials and donors are growing increasingly concerned about the ongoing verbal assault presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has launched against the Mexican judge overseeing his Trump University fraud case.
Trump Insists Judge is Bias
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel has become a whipping boy for Trump, who has repeatedly accused the judge of bias because of his Mexican heritage. The New York real estate mogul has since added he would have the same concerns about any Muslim judge.
House and Senate Republican leaders alike have condemned Trump's unabashed remarks, while donors openly worry it may lead to a down-the-ballot vote against party candidates come November's general election and may even leave longer scars as it relates to the party's ability to attract Latino voters.
"You own his politics," veteran republican strategist Rick Wilson wrote in a recent column for Heatstreet. "You own the racial animus that started out as a bug, became a feature and is now the defining characteristic of his campaign. You own every crazy, vile chunk of word vomit that spews from his mouth."
Indeed, some GOP leaders are even concerned Trump's impact could be as lasting as the damage left by former Arizona Sen. and 1964 GOP nominee Barry Goldwater. A leader of the conservative movement, Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act, paving the way for Democrats to lock in the African-American vote for decades to come.
Trumps Hardline Immigration Posture
Still, Trump has yet to back away from such comments he made about Curiel as the judge is absolutely angered and bothered by his vow to deport millions of immigrants and build a wall along the Mexican border to further keep them out.
Even though the likes of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have deemed Trump's attack on the judge as "one of his worse mistakes," campaign staffers have downplayed its impact.
In all, Republicans are faced with defending 24 seats in the Senate this election season and hopes of them maintaining their slim, four seat majority are growing thinner. Even in the House, where the party owns a 58 seat majority, there are grumblings some candidates are now facing bigger risks than they may have been without Trump's rhetoric.
Beyond raising more money and pouring more cash into down ballot races, one fundraiser with close ties to several GOP Super PACs admits donors have been "burning up the phone lines" trying to figure out how to help protect the parties majorities.
"The concern is -- do we get to the point that all the money in the world doesn't matter?" asked another donor, adding his entire focus this election cycle is to help protect House and Senate candidates and the party's suddenly fragile congressional advantages. "We're obviously not there right now, but stupid s--- like this really makes you wonder," he said.
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