Trump watched this Democratic senator criticize him on CNN, then went on a bizarre rage-tweet spree

President Trump.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Since the firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) has become one of the most outspoken Democratic critics. "Not since Watergate have our legal systems been so threatened," he warned in a statement Tuesday evening. By Wednesday, Blumenthal was telling CNN that "what we have now is really a looming constitutional crisis that is deadly serious."

This is not the first time Trump has attacked Blumenthal this year over a comment the senator made in 2008 that falsely implied he had "served in Vietnam." To set the record straight, Blumenthal did not exactly cry "like a baby" and beg "for forgiveness"; he said, "on a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service and I regret that."

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Of course, critics were quick to point out that Trump himself received five deferments from Vietnam and that by attacking Blumenthal on Twitter, the president was effectively calling for "a criminal investigation of a senator who criticized him for firing [the] FBI director."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.