Newt Gingrich calls remarks about judge 'one of the worst mistakes Trump's made'

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 6 June 2016

Newt Gingrich is one of Donald Trump's closest advisers and supporters, but on Sunday, he called comments the presumptive Republican nominee made about the judge presiding over his Trump University civil fraud case "inexcusable."

"It was one of the worst mistakes Trump has made," the former GOP House speaker said on Fox News Sunday. Trump has repeatedly said that Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was born in Indiana to immigrants parents from Mexico, is biased against him because Trump has vowed to build a wall between the United States and its southern neighbor. "That judge is not a Mexican," Gingrich said. "He's an American. I hope it was sloppiness."

It wasn't an entirely negative interview — Gingrich also showered Trump with praise, saying he is "amazed at his speed, how fast he learns. He's a remarkable leader. We have a very good relationship."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.