Donald Trump has claimed his offensive remarks about Mexican people, some of whom he called 'rapists' and 'criminals', are 'pretty mainstream'.

The Republican nominee attacked Mexican people during a press conference announcing his run for president in June 2015.

'They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,' Trump said at the time about people crossing the border into the US.

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Donald Trump has claimed his offensive remarks about Mexican people, some of whom he called 'rapists' and 'criminals', are 'pretty mainstream'

Trump made the comments in June during a deposition in a suit he launched against two chefs who had agreed to have restaurants in his new Washington DC hotel

A new video, published by the New York Post, the Republican nominee suggests he has not softened his view, and instead said they are backed by other people.

'I’ve tapped into something... I’ve tapped into illegal immigration,' Trump said during a deposition in a suit he launched against celebrity chefs José André and Geoffrey Zakarian, who the Trump brand says terminated leases they had to open restaurants in the new Washington DC hotel.

'But, you know, when you get more votes than anybody in the history of the party, history of the party by far, more than Ronald Reagan, more than Richard Nixon, more than Dwight D. Eisenhower, who won the Second World War, you know, that’s pretty mainstream, when you think about it.'

In the deposition, which lasted almost two hours, Trump went on to talk about how his presidential run has had a ‘very positive impact’ on his business, claiming a Palm Beach, Florida, hotel has had a record year on the back of it.

'I’ve tapped into something... I’ve tapped into illegal immigration,' Trump (pictured at the Washington DC hotel in March) said during his deposition

Trump is suing celebrity chefs José André (right) and Geoffrey Zakarian (left), who terminating leases they had to open restaurants in the new Washington DC hotel

‘I don’t know exactly… I would say more positive than anything else,’ he added.

‘Maybe it’s the success of the campaign, I mean people have said there has never been anything like this.'

He also spoke about delays to the completion of the hotel, saying its opening was pushed back from 'the end of 2015' to 'late 2016' because they 'went more up-scale'.

'We went a lot more complicated… it takes a little bit more time. I always viewed it as a 2016,' he said.

The comments about the opening being pushed back appeared to contradict something he said at the hotel on a recent campaign stop.

Trump (pictured in Michigan on Friday) revealed he wears glasses in the deposition, saying he could not read a piece of paper without them

The Trump International Hotel (pictured) had a soft opening this month and is expected to open completely before the end of the year

During a press conference at the hotel this month, where Trump appeared to put an end to the 'birther' conspiracy that President Obama was not born in America, Trump said: 'Nice hotel... under budget and ahead of schedule, isn't that nice.'

He also revealed he wears glasses during the video that emerged on Friday.

When asked to read a document, Trump said he would struggle to without them.

'I am at a disadvantage, I didn’t bring my glasses, this is such small writing,' he said.