WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday rejected a barrage of criticism from his own party over his allegations of bias against a Hispanic judge, insisting his concerns were valid.
"All I want to do is figure out why I'm being treated unfairly by a judge. And a lot of people agree with it," Trump said on Fox News.
Trump has been on the defensive since his comments last week about Mexican-American US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing fraud lawsuits against Trump University, the New York businessman's defunct real estate school.
Trump told campaign supporters in a conference call they should stand by him in his attacks on the judge, Bloomberg Politics reported. It said during the call Trump distanced himself from a memo his campaign sent supporters on Sunday that urged them to avoid the issue.
Asked for comment, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said: "It was a very positive call to discuss overall messaging."
Trump has suggested that Curiel's heritage is influencing the judge's opinion about the case because of Trump's campaign rhetoric about illegal immigration.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the Nov 8 presidential election, has pledged to seal the US-Mexico border with a wall, and has said Mexico is sending rapists and drug dealers to the United States.
Former Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, a US senator from Florida, joined the chorus of criticism. In an interview with Orlando's WFTV, Rubio called Trump's comments wrong and said he had to stop.
"I ran for president and I warned this was going to happen,"Rubio said.
Trump has regularly stirred up controversy on the campaign trail and has frequently dismayed Republican establishment leaders. His view of an ethnically biased judiciary has drawn a fresh wave of criticism, including concern in his own party.
On Sunday he was asked if - by the same token - he believed a Muslim judge would be biased against him based on Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.
"It's possible. Yes," Trump said on CBS' "Face the Nation." Republican leaders including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell have distanced themselves from Trump's comments, saying they are worried the tone of his presidential campaign could enrage Latinos, who are a growing US voting bloc.
'BIG TROUBLE' "If this doesn't change we're in for big trouble," Senator Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said on MSNBC on Monday.
"I hope to be able to support the nominee. I certainly can't now,"said Flake, whose state has a large percentage of Hispanics.
A former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Ohio Governor John Kasich, called on Trump to apologise to Curiel, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrant parents.
"Attacking judges based on their race (and/or) religion is another tactic that divides our country," Kasich wrote on Twitter. "More importantly, it is flat out wrong."
It was unclear what, if any, effect the latest furor would have on Trump's unorthodox candidacy. States with significant Hispanic populations including California, New Mexico and New Jersey hold nominating contests on Tuesday.
On Monday, the global Internet media company BuzzFeed pulled out of a million-dollar advertising agreement with the Republican National Committee over objections to Trump's rhetoric.
"The Trump campaign is directly opposed to the freedoms of our employees in the United States and around the world and in some cases, such as his proposed ban on international travel for Muslims, would make it impossible for our employees to do their jobs," BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote to employees.
Hillary Clinton, who is hoping to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination in Tuesday's contests, seized on the Curiel controversy to point out once again where Republicans disagreed with their standard bearer.
"@realDonaldTrump's bigoted comments about a Latino judge are so disgusting, even other Republicans are offended," she said in a Twitter post.
Trump fought back against his Republican critics on Monday, with especially sharp words for Newt Gingrich, a former House speaker.
Gingrich, mentioned as a possible running mate to Trump, on Sunday called Trump's comments inexcusable. "I was surprised at Newt," Trump told the "Fox & Friends"programme. "I thought it was inappropriate what he said."
