President Donald Trump on Thursday morning questioned whether Neil Gorsuch actually criticized the president’s attacks on judges by suggesting that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) lied about the Supreme Court nominee’s remarks.
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
It appears Trump sent the tweets after watching Blumenthal on CNN.
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
Blumenthal told reporters on Wednesday that Gorsuch told him in a meeting that Trump’s tweets about judges “were demoralizing and disheartening.” Blumenthal was not the only person to vouch for Gorsuch’s comments. A spokesman for Gorsuch, Ron Bonjean, confirmed that the Supreme Court nominee made those remarks to Blumenthal.
The Connecticut senator was criticized during his 2010 Senate campaign for saying that he had served in Vietnam. However, while Blumenthal was in the Marine Reserves during the Vietnam War, he served his entire time in the U.S. Blumenthal later acknowledged that he misspoke about his service.
Blumenthal also told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday morning that Gorsuch told him to feel free to publicize his comments about Trump’s attacks on judges.
.@SenBlumenthal: Gorsuch said –’You should feel free to mention what I said’ about Trump’s attacks on the judiciary https://t.co/dHHj7ka4h5
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) February 9, 2017