Donald Trump on Tuesday climbed down under fire from Republican grandees in an explosive race row, insisting that days of belligerent attacks on a Mexican-American judge had been misconstrued.
The tycoon, who trails likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in national polls ahead of a November general election, has repeatedly claimed that federal judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is handling a lawsuit against the now-defunct Trump University, is biased against him because his parents were born in Mexico.
“It is unfortunate that my comments have been misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage,” the presumptive Republ-ican nominee said in statement. “I do not feel that one’s heritage makes them incapable of being impartial,” he said.
Mr Trump’s statement came hours after House Speaker Paul Ryan, the most senior elected Republican who endorsed his candidacy last week, described his criticism of the judge as racist. “Claiming a person cannot do the job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment,” Mr Ryan told reporters. “I think that should be absolutely disavowed.”
