A pair of powerful Senate Republicans today warned Donald Trump to drop his attacks on a Latino judge presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University, joining the widespread rejection of their presumptive presidential nominee's treatment of the federal jurist.
A third prominent Republican who also supports Trump urged the candidate to start acting like "a potential leader of the United States."
"We're all behind him now," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned, adding that it's time for unifying the party, not "settling scores and grudges."
"I hope he'll change his direction."
So far, Trump has refused, reiterating in interviews broadcast today that US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel's Mexican heritage means he cannot ensure a fair trial involving a billionaire who wants to build a border wall to keep people from illegally entering the United States from Mexico.
Curiel was born in Indiana to Mexican-born parents making him, in Trump's view, "a hater of Donald Trump."
"I couldn't disagree more" with Trump's central argument, McConnell said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I don't condone the comments," added Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on ABC's "This Week."
And Newt Gingrich, who became speaker of the House promising to open the GOP more to minorities, delivered the harshest warning of all.
"This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made. I think it's inexcusable," Gingrich, a former presidential contender, said on "Fox News Sunday.
