To President Donald Trump, the trip to Vietnam to meet with N. Korean strongman Kim Jung Un is not all serious business.
In the couple days leading up to the history meeting, Trump traveled the country to meet with leaders, and in doing so, he made sure to fit in some time to joke or clown Connecticut Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal for lying about ever serving in the military during the Vietnam War.
“I served during the Vietnam era,” Blumenthal reportedly said at a Vietnam War memorial in 2008. “I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even the physical abuse.”
Blumenthal’s statement was false, and later apologized for exaggerating or lying about serving in Vietnam.
Apology aside, Blumenthal’s admission fuels what seems to be one of Trump’s favorite digs at his detractors.
So, after spending a short amount of time in Vietnam, Trump tweeted,” I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut,” adding that Blumenthal’s war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there.”
I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019
Blumenthal did not respond to Trump’s mocking remarks, rather tweeted the need for the senate to block the president’s emergency declaration.
Trump’s declaration of this national emergency is the abuse of power the framers envisioned when they enshrined a system of checks & balances in our Constitution. The House’s bipartisan vote to block the emergency declaration is leadership by example. Senate must now follow suit.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) February 27, 2019
