A CNN host took Donald Trump’s national spokeswoman to task Monday for peddling the presumptive nominee’s claim that a judge handling a lawsuit against him has an axe to grind because he’s Mexican.
Spokeswoman Katrina Pierson appeared on CNN’s “New Day” after Trump named and shamed the judge in one of the lawsuits pending against Trump University on Friday, calling him “a hater of Donald Trump” and “we believe, Mexican.”
After playing back footage of those remarks, host Alisyn Camerota asked, “So Katrina, ‘We believe he’s Mexican,’ what is that?”
Pierson responded by going on the offensive about the former students suing Trump, saying “you just can’t guarantee an outcome” for graduates. She went on to say the judge is a member of La Raza’s lawyer association, a group she says has organized anti-Trump rallies with Mexican flags.
“So Mr. Trump is just stating the obvious,” Pierson concluded.
“But this judge isn’t Mexican,” Camerota countered. “He was born here. He’s American.”
“I’m not saying he’s Mexican,” Pierson said.
“But Mr. Trump is saying he’s Mexican,” Camerota pressed.
“He says we ‘believe’,” Pierson interrupted.
“But what’s the point of that? Why is he going after an ethnicity? What’s the point?” Camerota pressed.
Pierson attacked “criminal” protesters with “their Mexican flags and La Raza,” saying, “this judge is connected to that.”
“OK, but you recognize that Mr. Trump is wrong?” the CNN anchor asked.
“I don’t know if he’s Mexican,” Pierson shot back. “I don’t know his heritage or his descent.”
“Okay, for the record, he’s American, but we hear you, Katrina,” Camerota said to end the interview.
Watch the full exchange via RawStory: