House Dem: Trump ‘ought to be ashamed of himself’

Newly minted GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump “ought to be ashamed of himself” for making controversial comments about Mexican immigrants, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said on Wednesday.

{mosads}“I have a very low opinion for anybody who makes those kinds of expressions,” Clyburn said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

The longtime House member responded to Trump’s comments during the announcement of his campaign on Tuesday, when the real estate magnate said that the border has become a “dumping ground for everybody else’s problems,” and Mexican immigrants are not the country’s “best and the finest.”

“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us,” Trump said.

“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

Clyburn railed against Trump, arguing that the comments smacked of the same racism that other immigrant groups historically faced while coming to America.

“It was said about Irish, these kinds of things were said about Italians, and certainly they were said about African-Americans, and he ought to be ashamed of himself,” Clyburn said.

He recalled growing up black in South Carolina before the civil rights movement and said Trump’s “caustic comments will not do anybody good.”

While Trump has high name recognition for a long-shot candidate, many Republicans are skeptical he’ll be a serious contender. Clyburn said he shares that assumption and panned Trump as a distraction from the real issues surrounding the 2016 presidential race.

“I view his whole candidacy as a sideshow that’s taking away from meaningful discussions that we need to have,” Clyburn said.