Donald Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE took his anti-Latino crusade to new lows when he attacked U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, calling him a "total disgrace" and even worse, a "Mexican."

Curiel, who is presiding over two of the lawsuits against Trump University, is a tough, well-respected jurist who once took on the drug cartel.

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Born to hardworking immigrant parents, Curiel was born in East Chicago, Ind., and played guitar in a band before attending law school at Indiana University. As an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California, he helped take down the murderous Arellano Félix brothers. President Obama nominated him to the federal bench in 2011, and he was confirmed by the Senate with flying colors.

He is no more a Mexican than Trump is a German.

And no shrinking violet, either. Curiel is prohibited from responding by the judicial code of conduct, but according to his brother Raul, a Vietnam vet, he's unfazed. While investigating the cartel, Curiel was targeted by a hitman, so Trump's threats don't scare him.

Yet Trump claims Curiel has an "inherent conflict of interest" because of his Mexican heritage, and is assumedly biased due to Trump's plan to build a border wall and deport 11 million undocumented workers. Trump has also alleged he has ties with the plaintiff's lawyers and should be investigated.

Even Megyn Kelly (herself a lawyer) thought this was nonsense, saying Trump was "out of line." Her guest, President Reagan's Secretary of Education Bill Bennet, sheepishly agreed. Does this presage further feuding with Fox?

Kelly also debunked another whopper. Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson had said Curiel was tied to "La Raza," which she implied was fomenting anti-Trump riots. Perhaps she meant the Washington, D.C.-based National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Often reviled by the right, NCLR is a mainstream advocacy group that foments annual conventions rather than riots. Curiel has no connection with NCLR, but is a member of La Raza Lawyers of California, a professional association with no political agenda. Oops!

Nothing prohibits a plaintiff from accusing a judge of bias, and lawyers can file a motion asking for a case to be reassigned. Trump should know, since according to USA Today, he's been in 3,500 legal actions over the last 30 years. But no such motion has been filed.

As president, Trump may nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, effectively casting the Supreme Court in his own image. In this light, the allegation of bias based on ethnicity is a worrisome affront to judicial independence. By Trump's (il)logic, a Latino justice would have to recuse himself on any case involving immgration. And a woman would have to do the same for a case involving abortion.

Trump's sliming of Curiel is part of a well-orchestrated series of put-downs that began with his infamous taco bowl tweet on Cinco de Mayo and continued with his shaming of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. It continued at the raucous press conference over his donations to veterans, where Trump insulted two Latino-surnamed reporters, CNN's Jim Acosta and ABC's Tom Llamas. Trump once had his goons throw Univision anchor Jorge Ramos out of a press conference (that seems so long ago!), but has now restricted himself to mocking Acosta's looks and calling Llamas a "sleaze."

When Acosta brought up Curiel and asked, "But why antagonize the judge ... ?" over his ethnicity, Trump replied, "Because I don't care."

The Clintonistas do care, and they've been wringing their hands over a Fox News poll that showed 23 percent of Latinos would vote for Trump, asking themselves the question of whether Trump can sway Latino voters. But if that were his objective, why would he insult them every chance he gets? Trump will never pivot. He's gotten more mileage and media attention (and fewer questions about his tax returns) from bashing the Latino piñata.

The war of words has turned increasingly violent at Trump rallies in Costa Mesa, Calif.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and most recently, San Jose, Calif., with protesters rioting and clashing with police and Trump supporters. Will this ominous pattern continue through Election Day?

That's a far more troubling question.

Estrada is the editor of LATINO Magazine.