GOP Civil War: Conservative Pundit Attacks Mitch McConnell For Not Calling Trump’s Judge Attacks “Racism”
Written by Matt Gertz
Published
Conservative pundit Erick Erickson is attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) after McConnell repeatedly refused to describe as “racist” Donald Trump’s repeated claims that a federal judge is biased against him in court because of the judge’s Mexican heritage.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel is presiding over two lawsuits pending against the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s now-defunct Trump University real estate seminar business. Trump has identified Curiel as a “Mexican” and “Hispanic” while criticizing his actions in the case, suggesting that the judge is treating Trump with hostility because of Curiel’s heritage and Trump’s position on immigration. In a June 3 interview on CNN’s The Lead, Trump said, “This judge is giving us unfair rulings. Now, I say why? Well, I'm building a wall, ok?”
Erickson criticized several media outlets for terming the attacks “racially charged” or “racially tinged,” writing in a June 4 post for The Resurgent, “These were not racially tinged or racially charged attacks. This was racism, plain and simple.” He added, “the Party of Lincoln intends to circle the wagons around a racist. Damn them for that.”
NBC’s Chuck Todd asked McConnell to respond to Erickson’s post during a June 5 Meet The Press interview. McConnell replied: “I think the party of Lincoln wants to win the White House. The right-of-center world needs to respect the fact that the primary voters have spoken.”
That response is not sitting well with Erickson.
What does it profit a man to gain the White House and lose his soul?
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) June 5, 2016