This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s nominee to the supreme court, called the president’s tweet attacking the federal district court judge James Robart “disheartening and demoralizing”, his spokesman has confirmed.

Gorsuch criticized Trump in a private meeting with Senator Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday.

What you need to know about the Neil Gorsuch supreme court nomination Read more

Gorsuch’s spokesman, Ron Bonjean, confirmed to the Guardian that the supreme court nominee called Trump’s tweet attacking Robart “disheartening and demoralizing”.

On Thursday, the president attacked Blumenthal for “misrepresenting” his conversation with Gorsuch, which he equated to Blumenthal’s prior mischaracterization of his military record.

“Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning.

The “major lie” that Trump was seemingly referring to regards Blumenthal’s time in the Marine Corps reserves. During his 2010 bid for the Senate, Blumenthal was forced to apologize for saying he had served “in” the Vietnam war, when he had only served “during” the Vietnam war, having never been deployed overseas.

Trump has never served in the military and was given five draft deferments.

The president slammed Robart’s decision to issue a stay blocking his executive order on residents of seven Muslim-majority countries entering the United States in a series of tweets, including one in which he labeled Robart “a so-called judge”. Robart was nominated to the United States district court for the Western District of Washington by George W Bush in 2003 and was confirmed unanimously by the Senate.



Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said: “[Gorsuch] said very specifically that they were demoralizing and disheartening and he characterized them very specifically that way.”

The statement potentially leaves Gorsuch open to criticism from Trump, but helps in his effort to woo Senate Democrats who have pushed for the federal appellate judge to distance himself from the man who nominated him to the supreme court.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, raised specific concerns about whether Gorsuch would be sufficiently independent of the president if confirmed.

When asked if he was qualified, Schumer replied: “It depends on what you mean by qualified. Does he have the education and temperament to be a judge? People will make their own judgment. But that’s not what’s in question. What’s in question is what type of judge he’s going to be.”

Donald Trump: a man so obnoxious that karma may see him reincarnated as himself | Frankie Boyle Read more

Schumer went on to raise the question about whether Gorsuch would be “a barrier to the president, who has shown a tendency to overreach”.

Currently the filibuster still applies to supreme court nominees, which means barring a change of the rules via the so-called “nuclear option”, Gorsuch would need the support of eight Democrats to achieve the necessary supermajority and receive a confirmation vote by the Senate.

The judge’s comments met immediate criticism from one prominent Trump ally. Talkshow host Laura Ingraham tweeted that they were “concerning” and suggested that William Pryor and Thomas Hardiman, the two other finalists for the supreme court nomination, would not have made them.

However, it met some optimistic reaction in the Senate. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, told reporters that Gorsuch’s statement “certainly shows his independence”. Flake added that he thought it would help Gorsuch’s chances in the Senate.

Matt House, a spokesman for Schumer, expressed continued skepticism about Gorsuch’s remarks. “Given the president’s comments, that’s a very milquetoast response,” House said. “Anyone can be disheartened, but the judge has refused to condemn the comments privately or publicly.”