Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) ripped Republicans and Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying GOP lawmakers should disavow controversial comments from the presumptive presidential nominee from the Senate floor.
“Now many of my colleagues have tried to distance themselves from the comments of their nominee, but they have not gone in many cases far enough,” Menendez said. “They need to come to the floor and denounce the comments of their nominee.”
{mosads}The New Jersey Democrat’s speech comes after Trump accused a federal judge hearing a lawsuit against Trump University of being biased against him because of the judge’s Mexican heritage.
Menendez said Tuesday that Trump’s remarks are “taking this nation and the Republican Party down a dark and slippery slope” and are “downright dangerous.”
“The stakes are too high to allow a megalomaniac to pound his chest over a legitimate decision ordered by a judge confirmed unanimously by this Senate,” he said, adding that Trump can “only be described as remarkably childish, thin-skinned, surprisingly egocentric … for someone who aspires to lead this nation.”
Trump said Tuesday that his comments have been “misconstrued” by the media “as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage.”
But Trump’s explanation is unlikely to sway Democrats, or help GOP lawmakers avoid a constant stream of questions about if they agree with the billionaire’s initial remarks.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told reporters separately Tuesday that the international community had “major concerns” with Trump’s rhetoric and he would use meetings this week to disavow the likely GOP nominee’s comments.
“I will make it clear my personal views and I believe the views of America as it relates to some of the comments made about Donald Trump,” Cardin, who replaced Menendez as the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said.