Trump breaks from vacation to tweet, vent

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump broke away from his summer vacation Monday for a barrage of Twitter posts lashing out at the “Fake News Media” and insisting that his political base was “getting stronger” despite investigations into possible collusion between Russia and his associates.

Rising early at his golf resort in nearby Bedminster, N.J., where he arrived Friday for the start of a 17-day escape from Washington, Trump vented his frustration that he is not getting sufficient credit for his political strength and for the accomplishments of his 6-month-old presidency.

‘Will never change!’

“The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at rallies in Penn, Iowa, Ohio and West Virginia,” he said on Twitter in a string of messages.

“The fact is the Fake News Russian collusion story, record Stock Market, border security, military strength, jobs, Supreme Court pick, economic enthusiasm, deregulation & so much more have driven the Trump base even closer together. Will never change!”

Trump traveled to New Jersey while the West Wing undergoes a renovation to upgrade the air conditioning.

The furniture has been removed from the Oval Office, and most of the staff relocated to an office building next door.

Familiar targets

In his morning tweets, Trump went after some of his most consistent targets, including the New York Times and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Blumenthal appeared on CNN on Monday morning talking about the Russia investigations minutes before the president’s tweets.

“Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!” he wrote on Twitter.

Blumenthal received at least five deferments from military service during the Vietnam era and then went into the Marine Reserve, where he served in a unit in Washington.

But as a politician, he referred to himself as having “served in Vietnam” or “served during the Vietnam era.”

The article exposing these false statements in 2010 did not, however, report that he told stories about Vietnam battles or conquests as Trump said in later tweets.

Trump received five deferments from the draft.

Blumenthal responds

Blumenthal responded using Trump’s own favorite medium. “Mr. President: Your bullying hasn’t worked before and it won’t work now. No one is above the law,” he wrote on Twitter.

“This issue isn’t about me — it’s about the Special Counsel’s independence and integrity.”