Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Wednesday told NBC News that he didn’t mean to “equate” Donald Trump’s attacks on a federal judge’s “Mexican heritage” with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s comment about a “wise Latina.”
“You just can’t equate the two. And I wasn’t meaning to equate the two,” Grassley said. “And I think I’ve said several times that I wouldn’t say what, uh, Trump said. I disagree with what he said.”
Grassley added that Trump should file motions to replace U.S. District Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump accused of having a bias in cases he’s presiding over against Trump University, if he feels he’s been wronged.
Earlier in the day, Grassley seemed to defend Trump’s comments in a conference call with The Des Moines Register by comparing them to Sotomayor saying that she hoped a “wise Latina” would make better judgments than a white man, based on her life experiences.
Grassley has said in the past that he will support the GOP nominee and has faith in Trump picking a good nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy. He also said Tuesday that he disagreed with Trump’s criticisms of Curiel.
Watch Grassley’s walkback below:
NEW:Sen Grassley tells @HallieJackson he didn’t mean to equate Sotomayor saying “wise Latina” to Trump’s judge stmts pic.twitter.com/QC7VbygFHn
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 8, 2016
