Black Republican Senator Blasts Donald Trump’s “Racially Toxic” Rhetoric

Donald Trump’s recent remarks disparaging a federal judge’s integrity based on his ethnic heritage have drawn ire from fellow Republicans.

In a recent CNN interview, Trump impugned U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel , who is presiding over the Trump University case, stating he was be treated unfairly because the judge is a “Mexican.”

“He’s a Mexican,” Trump said in reference to Curiel. “We’re building a wall between here and Mexico. The answer is, he is giving us very unfair rulings — rulings that people can’t even believe.”

Curiel was born in Indiana. Trump’s highly insulting remarks seek to make Curiel less American and paint him as more loyal to Mexico than the his own country merely because of his heritage. The remarks have proven to be very unpopular; causing even Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich to draw sharp criticisms.

Now the only Black Republican senator has spoken out.

Tim Scott of South Carolina has condemned Trump’s remarks as “racially toxic.” Last February Scott expressed similar concerns about Trump, stating, “Any candidate who cannot immediately condemn a hate group like the KKK does not represent the Republican Party, and will not unite it,” Scott told The Washington Times. “If Donald Trump can’t take a stand against the KKK, we cannot trust him to stand up for America against Putin, Iran or ISIS.”

Hispanic Senator Ted Cruz also expressed consternation over the presumptive GOP nominee’s remarks, reportedly telling NBC, “of course it’s inappropriate to be attacking a federal judge’s race or ethnicity.”

Cruz refused to speculate on why Trump would say such things; continuing to walk a tight line of remaining true to his principles without being seen as damaging to his party’s odds in November.