Paul Ryan scrambles to distance himself from Donald Trump's attack on judge

Just a day after House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed Donald Trump for president, he was already seeking to distance himself from the presumptive GOP nominee. On Friday, Ryan denounced Trump's racially-charged remarks about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in a Wall Street Journal article published Thursday. Trump said Curiel's "Mexican heritage" posed "an inherent conflict" with him presiding over a civil lawsuit against Trump University.
"Look, the comment about the judge the other day just was out of left field for my mind," Ryan said, completely unprompted, during a Friday interview on WISN radio. "It's reasoning I don't relate to. I completely disagree with the thinking behind that. And so, he clearly says and does things I don't agree with, and I've had to speak up from time to time when that has occurred, and I'll continue to do that if it's necessary. I hope it's not."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.