Politics & Government
President Trump Blasts Sen. Blumenthal On Twitter Over Judge Gorsuch Comments
Blumenthal said that Gorsuch said that Trump's attacks on the judicial system were "disheartening" and "demoralizing."
Add United States Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to the growing list of President Donald Trump's Twitter targets.
Thursday morning, Trump was angry over Blumenthal's characterization in a CNN interview of Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch's comments to him. In the interview, Blumenthal said that Gorsuch said that Trump's attacks on the judicial system were "disheartening" and "demoralizing," to which the 45th President lashed out at Blumenthal about the Connecticut senator's military service:
Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
Trump wasn't finished, continuing the attack and lumping in CNN host Chris Cuomo. CNN later confirmed that an aide to Gorsuch had used those terms to describe the judge's sentiments on the issue.
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Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
In a press conference in 2010, Blumenthal addressed what he said were instances where he "misspoke" about his military service, for which he said he took full responsibility for the misrepresentation, reports The Hill. He said his used the phrase "in Vietnam" when he meant to say "during Vietnam" when speaking about his position in the Marine Corps Reserves during the period.
The New York Times initially broke the story in 2010 about Blumenthal's misrepresentation, but noted that both Sen. Ben Sasse and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte also confirmed Blumenthal's account of Gorsuch's comments.
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Trump also did not serve in Vietnam, instead receiving five deferments during the war, according to the publication.
Over the past two years, Trump has used Twitter relentlessly to attack his targets, from fellow Republicans who ran against in the primary, to companies that send jobs overseas, to other celebrities who run afoul of him.
For example, moments after the Blumenthal attack, Trump took on Sen. John McCain for the senator's questioning whether the recent military raid in Yemen - in which Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens was killed - was a complete success.
Of the Blumenthal attack, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, during a press conference Thursday, said it's time someone takes Trump's phone away as he's starting to sound "unhinged."
Photo: U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
— Patch Editor Brian McCready contributed to this report.
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