Trump woos senators on Supreme Court nominee

He claims lawmaker ‘misrepresented’ Gorsuch’s comments

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump lobbied Democrats and Republicans to back his Supreme Court nominee on Thursday even as he escalated his attacks against one of their Senate colleagues for disclosing that Judge Neil Gorsuch found the president’s criticism of the judiciary “demoralizing and disheartening.”

In a day of political whiplash, Trump insisted that Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal “misrepresented” comments from Gorsuch, who expressed misgivings about the president’s attacks on a judge. Gorsuch’s comments were first reported by Blumenthal, but were subsequently confirmed by two other senators who heard versions of the same thing, and verified by the White House-appointed handlers shepherding Gorsuch around Capitol Hill.

Nevertheless, sitting at a White House lunch between two of Blumenthal’s Democratic colleagues, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Trump took the opportunity of a shouted question from a reporter to lash out at Blumenthal, dredging up a years-old controversy in which the former Marine Corps reservist apologized for falsely saying he had served in Vietnam.

“What you should do is ask Sen. Blumenthal about his Vietnam record that didn’t exist after years of saying it did. Ask Sen. Blumenthal about his Vietnam record,” Trump said. “He misrepresented that just like he misrepresented Judge Gorsuch.”

Blumenthal (D-Conn.) defended himself on Thursday, insisting that he had correctly characterized Gorsuch’s reaction to Trump’s attacks against a “so-called judge,” as the president described the Seattle judge who put a stay on his refugee travel ban.

“This issue is way bigger than me or even Judge Gorsuch’s nomination,” Blumenthal said. “What’s at stake is the independence and integrity of the court system and a core constitutional principle — the independence and integrity of our judiciary.”

Meanwhile, with the White House hunting for eight Democratic votes to get Gorsuch across a confirmation hurdle in the Senate, Democrats accused the judge of participating in a White House “ruse” to pretend to be independent from the president by claiming to be demoralized by his attacks on the judiciary.