Nine hours later, President Trump still isn't done tweeting about Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). On Monday afternoon, Trump, who is currently definitely not on vacation at his New Jersey golf resort, suggested that Blumenthal take a vacation of his own:
Trump's quip about Vietnam was a continuation of his earlier Twitter rampage, in which he slammed Blumenthal for previously misrepresenting his military service by claiming he'd been "in" Vietnam. (Blumenthal actually served with the Marine reserves in Washington during the war.) Blumenthal later apologized, clarifying that he'd intended to say he'd served "in the Vietnam era."
But Blumenthal's apology — and the fact that the misrepresentation was uncovered seven years ago — hasn't stopped Trump from resurfacing the scandal in response to Blumenthal's criticisms. Trump brought Vietnam up again Monday morning after Blumenthal appeared on CNN's New Day to talk about the ongoing Russia investigation. Blumenthal's remarks about Russia's meddling in the U.S. presidential election prompted Trump — who claims he has "very little time for watching TV" — to tweet that Blumenthal has no room to talk "when he was a phony Vietnam con artist":
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Blumenthal tweeted back at Trump just an hour later, arguing that the "the issue isn't about me — it's about [Special Counsel Robert Mueller's] independence and integrity."
After Trump's Twitter bullying carried on into the afternoon, Blumenthal made another appearance on CNN. "I have no idea about what is in his mind," Blumenthal said. "What I do know is I will not be distracted by this bullying."
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