WASHINGTON — Trump drew a storm of criticism Tuesday after posting on his Truth Social account that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) “should be allowed to speak no longer,” a remark veterans’ and civil-rights groups said was a direct affront to the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and representative government.
This long-winded rant published late Tuesday, revived Trump’s long-running attacks on Blumenthal’s Vietnam-era Marine Corps Reserve service, calling the senator “a phony” and ending with the line that he “should be allowed to speak no longer.”
Blumenthal, 78, served in the Marine Corps Reserve from 1970 to 1976 and has acknowledged “misspeaking” about his service decades ago. His office declined to respond directly to Trump’s latest comments, saying only that the senator “will continue defending the Constitution that protects every American’s right to speak freely.”
Legal scholars and political historians said Trump’s language was unprecedented for a commander-in-chief. The exchange comes as relations between federal and state leaders remain tense amid ongoing court battles over National Guard deployments and immigration enforcement. Analysts said Trump’s post fits a broader pattern of rhetoric that treats opposition voices as enemies rather than participants in democratic debate. Veterans’ groups reacted sharply across social media. “You don’t tell a Marine—let alone a sitting senator—that he doesn’t have the right to speak, that’s not how democracy works.”
