Donald Trump's comments about Latino judge 'textbook definition of racist comment', says Paul Ryan

Mr Ryan still reiterated his support for the controversial candidate

AP

House Speaker Paul Ryan called comments made about a Mexican-American judge by Donald Trump “the textbook definition of a racist comment”.

Last week, Mr Trump claimed that Judge Gonzalo P Curiel has a “conflict of interest” in presiding over the Trump University lawsuit on account of his Mexican heritage.

“I disavow these comments - I regret those comments that he made,” Mr Ryan said during a press conference to unveil House Republican anti-poverty proposals.

“Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment,” he added.

Despite his disavowal of Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Ryan still reiterated his support for the real estate mogul.

“I think that should be absolutely disavowed. It’s absolutely unacceptable,” he said. “But do I believe that Hillary Clinton is the answer? No, I do not.”

Mr Ryan explained that House Republicans have “more common ground on the policy issues of the day” with Mr Trump than Ms Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

“We have more likelihood of getting our policies enacted with him than with her.”

New Jersey Gov Chris Christie rushed to Mr Trump's defense after voting for his former opponent in his state's primary on Tuesday, saying that the New York tycoon is "not a racist".

He added that accusations that Mr Trump is a racist "are absolutely contrary to every experience that I’ve had with him over the last 14 years."

“In the end, there are always going to be conflicts regarding civil lawsuits. There are always going to be opinions. Those are Donald’s opinions. And he has the right to express them, the same way anybody else has the right to express their views regarding how they’re treated in the civil or criminal courts in this country. That’s part of what free speech is about," Mr Christie told reporters.

In a 5 June interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Mr Trump doubled down on his criticisms of Judge Curiel.

Tapper pressed Mr Trump more than 20 times in the interview to respond to allegations that his claims were racist.

“[Curiel is] proud of his his heritage. I respect him for that,” Mr Trump said. “He's a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico.”

“If you are saying he cannot do his job because of his race, is that not the definition of racism?” Tapper asked, drawing a connection similar to Mr Ryan's Monday morning statement.

Mr Trump maintained his position: "No. I don't think so at all."