Arnold Schwarzenegger just took over The Apprentice duties from Donald Trump and immediately told him “you’re fired!”
After Trump’s repeated and misguided attacks on federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the actor-turned-politician tweeted that he believes the judge is a hero:
Judge Curiel is an American hero who stood up to the Mexican cartels. I was proud to appoint him when I was Gov. https://t.co/ADLCBXw57Q
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) June 6, 2016
Schwarzenegger should know a lot about Curiel. He appointed him to the bench while governor of California.
Curiel is a hero for his fight against Mexican drug cartels. Curiel was given a Special Act Award for his efforts to dismantle the Tijuana Cartel at the Department of Justice during the Bush administration. The cartel threatened to have Curiel assassinated, and he spent a year living in hiding, protected by U.S. Marshals.
Showing a calm temperament, Curiel said during his confirmation hearing, “Empathy does not play a role in the judicial process. A judge protects the ‘little guy’ — and the ‘big guy’ — by applying the law fairly and evenhandedly to all of the parties whether they are ‘little’ or ‘big.’”
Hardly the words of a radical leftist.
Trump says Curiel should recuse himself from the Trump University case because he is of Mexican heritage, and Trump wants to build a wall on the Mexican border. His attack on Curiel has generated fierce negative reaction from his fellow Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan who called it racist.
In reviewing his decade-long record, the conservative National Review concluded: “Curiel’s record over ten years on the state and federal bench doesn’t give a lot of evidence to support claims of a pro-Latino bias or political partisanship. Curiel has not held any elected office or given services to any party or political campaign. A look at Curiel’s decisions indicates he fits no simple template. He shows no particular tendency to take the part of labor unions against business, for instance.”
Trump backers have charged that Curiel belongs to a “racist” organization, the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association. They claim “La Raza” is a radical race-identity term. But officials from the organization say while “raza” means “race” in Spanish, as in English and other languages, words can have multiple meanings. As noted in several dictionaries, “La Raza” means “the people” or “the community.”
Curiel has said, “The judicial process must be administered fairly without regard to a person’s background, economic situation, or personal situation. Cases must be decided based upon admissible evidence and the applicable law.”
Schwarzenegger will host Trump’s former reality TV show the Celebrity Apprentice later this year.