Trump derides senator as ‘Vietnam con artist’
Being on vacation hasn’t kept President Trump from going on the Twitter attack.
Monday, the president criticized Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. The senator had appeared on CNN that morning, discussing the Justice Department’s crackdown on leaks, the sanctions on North Korea and what he called “potential collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“That investigation must be pursued,” Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. That drew the president’s ire. “Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!” the president said in a series of tweets. “Never in U.S. history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?”
Several hours later, he continued: “I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there.”
Blumenthal did exaggerate his military service, including one occasion in 2008, when he told a group of veterans and senior citizens, “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam.” He received multiple military deferments during the Vietnam War before landing in the Marine Reserve. He served in the reserve from 1970 to 1976.
Attacking Blumenthal over Vietnam isn’t new for Trump — he has done it twice before. Trump also received multiple deferments during the Vietnam War, and he never served in the military.
Blumenthal shot back at the president’s morning tweets.
“Mr. President: Your bullying hasn’t worked before and it won’t work now,” he wrote. “No one is above the law.”