Trump drew first blood this morning in what appears to be a growing twitter feud with Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal when he called the Senator a "phony Vietnam con artist." Within an hour, Blumenthal launched a counter strike calling Trump a "bully." It had all the makings of a heated 1st grade-ish Battle Royale. But, Trump has just taken things to a whole new level with the following tweet which seemingly confirms that the President is now locked in his first official Twitter War. "I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there." I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/894661651760377856!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Meanwhile, for those who aren't familiar with Blumenthal's loose relationship with the facts concerning his Vietnam military service, the following was exposed by The New York Times in 2010... At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life. “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.” There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records. And, luckily for all of us, it seems the President has some extra time on his hands today to exploit Blumenthal's hazy recollection of his past military service...or lack thereof. Rainy day at the Summer White House in Bedminster, New Jersey. https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamTrump?src=hash!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); keeping very busy working with https://twitter.com/POTUS!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); to https://twitter.com/hashtag/MAGA?src=hash!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");! pic.twitter.com/iDSkbTddu0 — Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) https://twitter.com/Scavino45/status/894647305500078081!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); * * * For those who missed it, here is our overview of the tweet exchanged between Trump and Blumenthal earlier today. Just an hour after being attacked by President Trump in an early morning tweet storm, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut has now responded with a few snarky jabs of his own. "Mr. President: Your bullying hasn't worked before and it won't work now. No one is above the law." "This issue isn't about me - it's about the Special Counsel's independence and integrity." This issue isn't about me - it's about the Special Counsel's independence and integrity. — Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/status/894550746426777603!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Of course, Blumenthal's response comes after Trump labeled him a "phony Vietnam con artist" in an early-morning twitter rant that covered a litany of topics from the "failing NYTimes" to the renovation schedule at the White House. "Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!" "Never in U.S.history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?" Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/894525428236464128!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Never in U.S.history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/894526670836781056!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); ...conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/894528885701971970!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Meanwhile, the whole scuffle was apparently triggered by the following appearance by Blumenthal on CNN this morning in which he accused the Trump administration of "weaponizing" the Justice Department for "personal ends." Blumenthal on CNN: "Politicizing" the DOJ is "potentially a violation of the spirit of the First Amendment." https://t.co/z06epLwyyp — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/894532677809975296!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Sure, because no other administration ever "weaponized" the Justice Department...