Story highlights Donald Trump vociferously defended that the judge overseeing the case against Trump University must be biased

"He's proud of his his heritage. I respect him for that," Trump said, dismissing charges that his allegation was racist

Washington (CNN) Donald Trump on Friday vociferously -- and repeatedly -- defended his claims that a judge overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University is biased because of his Mexican heritage, pushing back against criticism that his objections are racist.

Trump, pressed by CNN's Jake Tapper more than 20 times on whether he was invoking racism in his attacks on the judge, continued to point to his plans to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and renegotiate trade agreements between the two countries as justification and validation of his critiques.

The presumptive GOP nominee said U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a federal district judge in the Southern District of California, has made "rulings that people can't even believe."

"He's proud of his his heritage. I respect him for that," Trump said, dismissing charges that his allegation was racist. "He's a Mexican. We're building a wall between here and Mexico."

Read More