At a briefing with reporters Thursday morning, Governor Dannel Malloy was asked what he thought about the tension between Republican President Donald Trump, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, and the federal judiciary. Instead of tackling the issue, Malloy took on the president.
"I’ve pleaded with people in Washington to take the president’s phone away from him," Malloy said of Trump. "He’s making himself look small and potentially unhinged, and I think that’s disruptive to his policy expectations and, quite frankly, damaging to the United States as a whole."
Malloy said the president has the wrong approach with social media.
"He clearly has a fascination with Twitter. Maybe it's worked for him, but it doesn’t work for the country," he said.
The name calling started after Blumenthal met with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, who apparently criticized the president's recent attacks on the federal judges.
"He said that these attacks on the judiciary are disheartening and demoralizing," Blumenthal said on NPR’s Morning Edition. "After I pressed him on the topic by raising it and saying that there has to be a public condemnation of this unprecedented vicious series of personal invective and insults that threaten the independence of the judiciary."
Trump referred to a Seattle federal judge who put a stay on his immigrant travel ban as a "so-called judge." He also has called out the federal appellate judges who are deciding the case now.
Trump attempted to raise seven-year-old allegations that Blumenthal misrepresented his service during the Vietnam war. And he wrote that Blumenthal is distorting what Gorsuch said.
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
However, Gorsuch's confirmation team confirmed the Supreme Court nominee was in fact referring to Trump's criticism of the judiciary in his comment.
Trump also criticized CNN host Chris Cuomo for not asking about Blumenthal's Vietnam service, once again calling the network "fake news."
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
Watch Blumenthal's interview on CNN:
Blumenthal was not the only senator the president targeted Thursday. Trump also took to Twitter to call out Republican Sen. John McCain, saying the senator has been losing so long, he doesn’t know how to win anymore.
Tucker Ives contributed to this report.
