Trump says a Muslim judge could be biased against him, just like the ‘Mexican’ one (who was born in Indiana)

Donald Trump broadened his assertion that a judge of Mexican heritage is too biased to preside over a fraud lawsuit against his defunct real estate school, saying that a hypothetical Muslim judge may be similarly disqualified.

The Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee has criticised San Diego federal court judge Gonzalo Curiel for handing down rulings in the case against Trump University that Trump considers unfair. Trump has said Curiel’s rulings are retribution for the candidate’s pledge to build a wall along the US-Mexico border if elected in November, calling the Indiana-born judge a “Mexican”.

Political allies have distanced themselves from those remarks while adversaries have called them racist.

“What if it was a Muslim judge?” John Dickerson, the host of CBS News’ Face the Nation, asked Trump on Sunday. Trump has proposed a temporary ban of all Muslim immigration into the US because of war and instability in the Middle East and the potential for terrorist attacks.

“Would you also feel like they wouldn’t be able to treat you fairly because of that policy of yours?” Dickerson asked.

“That would be possible, absolutely,” Trump answered.