--- title: Donald Trump: Congressman Filemon Vela Writes Open Letter description: A Democratic Congressman who told Donald Trump to take shove his border wall "up your ass" said he wanted to use "language he understands." canonical: https://time.com/4358784/donald-trump-filemon-vela-gonzalo-curiel-judge/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-06T19:40:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:00.245Z article:section: Politics og:title: Congressman Tells Off Trump 'In Language He Understands' og:description: "You can take your border wall and shove it up your ass," he wrote. og:url: https://time.com/4358784/donald-trump-filemon-vela-gonzalo-curiel-judge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee61ca96be5498b/6988969c5f570f7780b2138b/filemon-vela.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform and border security principles. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Congressman Tells Off Trump 'In Language He Understands' twitter:description: "You can take your border wall and shove it up your ass," he wrote. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaee61ca96be5498b/6988969c5f570f7780b2138b/filemon-vela.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:38 video:published: 2016-05-05 section: politics topics: presidential campaign, presidential demeanor, foreign policy, Israel, ISIS, defense spending, Republican primary, campaign rhetoric genre: political commentary, campaign montage tones: combative, sardonic, confrontational, playful emotions: anger (medium), amusement (medium), confidence (high) sentiment: neutral audience: voters, political news followers, campaign observers, undecided voters people: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Mitt Romney organizations: ISIS content_suitability: profanity [01:00-01:04]; violence [00:45-00:53]; war [00:36-01:04]; politics [00:00-01:38]; hate [00:22-00:22] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Congressman Tells Off Donald Trump 'In Language He Understands' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=24e3fb2f-2cd5-4369-b007-a3a5b7f56d56&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump? [Watch (HLS stream): A More "Presidentially Correct" Trump?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Jq72wMzX.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2016-05-05. We're tracking Trump statements with Time's Presidential-o-Meter to see how "Presidentially Correct" he can sound._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video compiles excerpts of Donald Trump's campaign remarks to test how "presidentially correct" he sounds. It features an interviewer questioning whether he needs to act more presidential, followed by clips on foreign policy, Israel, ISIS, and attacks on rival candidates. The segments include combative language and crowd reactions. The piece ends with Trump promising he will be so presidential that viewers will be bored. ## Key points - Trump says he has had no pressure from staff to act more presidential. (00:00) - The interviewer says a claim that the administration will lead the free world is an argument of a five year old. (00:08) - Trump says that when he becomes president, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end. (00:22) - Trump states he wants to develop a new foreign policy direction that replaces randomness with purpose. (00:36) - Trump says the countries the U.S. is defending must pay for the cost of this defense. (00:56) - Trump says he is going to knock the out of ISIS, and the clip draws applause. (00:59) - Trump says Governor Kasich and Senator Cruz have really hurt themselves. (01:04) - Trump calls Senator Cruz a lying Ted and says he won millions more votes than him. (01:20) - Trump says he will be so presidential that people will be bored and ask whether he can have more energy. (01:30) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:22] Pressure to act presidential. Trump responds to reports that staff pressed him to sound more presidential and disputes the interviewer's characterization. - [00:22 to 00:45] Israel and foreign policy remarks. Trump discusses Israel, rivals, and a proposed new foreign policy direction for the country. - [00:45 to 01:09] Defense costs and ISIS. Trump speaks on allied defense payments, vows to act against ISIS, and comments on Kasich and Cruz. - [01:09 to 01:38] Attacks on Cruz and presidential promise. Trump attacks Cruz's vote count and character and promises to become more presidential later. ## Key quotes - [00:08] interviewer: "Sir, with all due respect, that's the argument of a five year old." - [00:22] Trump: "when I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second class citizen will end." - [00:36] Trump: "One that replaces randomness with purpose. Ideology with strategy and chaos with peace." - [01:20] Trump: "We have won millions of more votes than Senator Cruz, a lying Ted, lying." - [01:30] Trump: "at the right time I will be so presidential you will be so bored." ## Questions this video answers - Is Trump under pressure from staff to act more presidential? [00:00] - What does Trump say his foreign policy direction will be? [00:36] - Who does Trump say must pay for the cost of U.S. defense? [00:56] - How does Trump plan to deal with ISIS? [00:59] - How does Trump describe Senator Cruz's standing in the race? [01:20] - Does Trump say he will eventually act more presidential? [01:30] ## Content suitability - profanity [01:00-01:04]: Crude language is bleeped, with an explicit word audible in the transcript context of the ISIS remark. - violence [00:45-00:53]: Crude reference to 'rape' of the country and a remark about wanting to punch someone in the face. - war [00:36-01:04]: Discussion of defending countries and defeating ISIS. - politics [00:00-01:38]: Entire video consists of political campaign statements and attacks on candidates. - hate [00:22-00:22]: Remark describing a group's treatment of Israel as second class, presented as a policy critique. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 6, 2016 7:40 PM UTC  Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform and border security principles. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on immigration reform and border security principles. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jun 6, 2016 7:40 PM UTC A Democratic Congressman who told Donald Trump to take his [“border wall and shove it up your ass”](https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/06/texas-democratic-congressman-tells-trump-shove-it/) in an open letter said he wanted to speak “in language he understands.” U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, who represents Texas’ 34th District, released the open letter in English and Spanish Monday morning, saying he’d reached a point where he had “had enough” of Trump’s tone on immigration and Hispanics. “I will not presume to speak on behalf of every American of Mexican descent, for every undocumented worker born in Mexico who is contributing to our country every day or, for that matter, every decent citizen in Mexico,” he wrote in the letter’s conclusion. “But, I am sure that many of these individuals would agree with me when I say: ‘Mr. Trump, you’re a racist and you can take your border wall and shove it up your ass.’” He told TIME Monday that the provocative language was very deliberate. “Usually, I’m very diplomatic,” he said. Trump’s criticism of Curiel has [drawn rebukes from fellow Republicans](http://time.com/4358239/donald-trump-republicans-judge/), even many who support his candidacy, while the White House has [sought to tie it to Senate Republicans’ delay](http://time.com/4358663/donald-trump-judge-gonzalo-curiel-white-house-supreme-court/) on filling a Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia. Vela was also bothered by the presumptive Republican nominee’s attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is handling the Trump University lawsuit. His father was appointed to the federal bench in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter and has a U.S. Courthouse named for him. “I owe a lot of who I am to my father,” Vela said. Since 2013, Vela has represented the southernmost tip of Texas in Congress. He drove from there to Washington, D.C., over the weekend with his wife and a staffer, giving time to reflect on what he wanted to say in the open letter. “It took a couple of days for it all to come together,” he said. ## Transcript [00:00] So there have been reports that you've been getting [00:02] pressure from your staff to act more presidential, is that the [00:05] case? Do you need to act more presidential? No, no, not at [00:08] all. We have had no pressure to act more presidential. The [00:10] Trump administration will lead a free world. Sir, with all due [00:14] respect, that's the argument of a five year old. I didn't start [00:16] it. That is properly armed and funded. Every parent knows [00:20] a kid who says he- That's not a five year old. Excuse me, [00:22] when I become president, the days of treating Israel like [00:26] a second class citizen will end. Now I have a lot of friends, [00:30] by the way, Mitt Romney is not one of them. Did he choke? [00:33] I would like to talk today about how to develop a new [00:36] foreign policy direction for our country. We can't continue [00:41] to allow. To rape our country. One that [00:45] replaces randomness with purpose. Ideology with [00:49] strategy and chaos with peace. Here's a guy, throwing [00:53] punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else. I'd [00:56] like to punch him in the face. The countries we are [00:59] defending must pay For the cost of this defense. We're [01:03] gonna knock the **** out of ISIS. [ APPLAUSE ] Gonna [01:04] knock the **** out of them. Governor Kasich [01:09] and Senator Cruz have really, really hurt themselves. [01:12] Somebody has to be where the belt's going in because the [01:12] belt moves this way. It moves this way. [ LAUGH ] It moves [01:16] that way. We have won [01:20] millions of more votes than Senator Cruz, a lying Ted, [01:22] lying. He's a lying guy! I felt that I had to [01:26] hit back very hard, but at the right time I will be so [01:30] presidential you will be so bored. 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