Trump’s Realism about the “Mexican” Judge is Legal
Frankly, I am not a Donald Trump fan. Nonetheless, as an academic with an interest in American jurisprudence, I must say that Trump’s “racist” remarks about Judge Gonzalo Curiel are completely in line with the nuances of legal education taught at American law schools. Few legal professionals will be genuinely distraught over what Trump says about the judge. Let’s recall his words. In speaking to an interviewer Trump said , “I’m building the wall, I’m building the wall. I have a Mexican judge. He’s of Mexican heritage. He should have recused himself, not only for that, for other things.” In saying this, Trump makes a realist’s connection between the existential realities of a judge and his or her decision-making, presuming that what judges do is inextricably connected to who judges are. In this presumption, Trump is positioned right in the mainstream American legal thought. The print and electronic media are “horrified” as if Trump has committed an inexcusable blasphemy a