Pence Responds To Trump's Comments About Indiana-Born Federal Judge

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mike Pence Tuesday called Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments about a federal judge’s ethnicity “inappropriate.”  The response came a day after Indiana Democrats criticized the governor’s silence on the issue.

Trump has repeatedly said Hoosier native Gonzalo Curiel wasn’t impartial when ruling on a case involving Trump because of Curiel’s Mexican heritage and Trump’s pledge to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Pence called those comments “inappropriate” and said a judge’s partiality should never be questioned because of their ethnic background.

“But that being said, if I wanted to comment on everything that’s said in the presidential campaigns, I would have run for president," Pence said. "I’m focused on the State of Indiana.”

Indiana Democratic Party spokesperson Drew Anderson called Pence “late to the game” and criticized him for just disagreeing instead of “condemning” Trump’s “racist statements.”