La Opinión’s editorial board criticized presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for pointing to the Mexican heritage of the federal judge who ordered records unsealed in the multi-million dollar lawsuit against Trump University.

On May 27, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered the release of documents related to Trump University after The Washington Post requested they be made public. In response, Trump devoted 12 minutes to attacking Curiel during a rally in San Diego, saying that Curiel, “a hater of Donald Trump” and a “Mexican,” was biased against him. A Trump surrogate followed up on CNN, criticizing Curiel’s membership in a Latino lawyer association. Polling data indicates Latinos will be one of the most challenging voter groups for Trump to win over, since more than 70 percent view the candidate unfavorably.

According to the May 30 editorial in La Opinión, “Trump said that Curiel’s supposed animosity comes from being ‘Mexican.’” As the board pointed out, “In his ignorance and irresponsibility, Trump’s attack is carried out against a Mexican-American,” showing that, regardless of immigration status, anyone with a “Hispanic last name and disagreement with Trump” is “in his eyes, suspicious of deliberately antagonizing him.” From La Opinión’s May 30 editorial:

Students who paid tens of thousands of dollars to study at Trump University must have suspected something was wrong when they were offered to take a picture with a cardboard figure of the mogul instead of with the real man. This is only one of the irregularities cited in the lawsuit for multi-million dollar fraud filed by former students. Still, Donald Trump believes that he is being accused because the judge is “a Mexican.”

[...]

The response of the presumptive Republican nominee was to say that Curiel is “a hater of Donald Trump,” adding that the judge – nominated by President Obama – must leave the case, citing bias. Trump said that Curiel’s supposed animosity comes from being “Mexican.” Spewed from the podium, the claim rouses a crowd of followers who feverishly wants to “build that wall,” this time to prevent judges from attacking the candidate.



In his ignorance and irresponsibility, Trump’s attack is carried out against a Mexican-American born in Chicago, not an immigrant. His criticism is no longer directed to undocumented people or foreigners but includes dozens of millions of people born in the U.S. whose Hispanic last name and disagreement with Trump makes them, in his eyes, suspicious of deliberately antagonizing him.