Blackburn Bashes Trump

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the pride (or shame) of Williamson County (depending on whom you ask), has been on the Trump Train from early on in the Republican primary. She may not have been the first Tennessee Congressional delegate to jump aboard — that would be Rep. Scott DesJarlais — but she was on board early enough to be asked to speak at the Republican National Convention, and on the same night Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for president.

Since Trump's election and throughout the innumerous subsequent gaffes, horrors and insanity of his presidency, Blackburn has continued to defend Trump — in press statements, on the House floor and on television. But much to Pith's surprise, even Blackburn has a breaking point, and it is apparently Trump insulting a woman about plastic surgery. (Maybe it finally hits too close to home?)

In case you somehow missed it, on Thursday morning Trump tweeted:

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Of course, Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski was not actually bleeding, nor had she had a facelift — she had a small amount of skin under her chin tucked, and according to her account in Vanity Fair, Trump actually wanted to know who her plastic surgeon was, because he thought it looked so great. But the grossness and the rudeness of the tweets sparked yet another controversy and have caused top Republican leaders to criticize the president.

And on Friday afternoon, that list grew to include Blackburn. She posted a lengthy screed on Facebook specifically calling on Trump — and, well, a few others:

This week’s inappropriate and pointless tweets from the President are a stark example of just what has gone wrong in our political discourse today. Robust yet civil debate over policy disagreements have taken a back seat to thin-skin and knee-jerk reactions to hyper-partisan comments and, unfortunately, unfounded character attacks.

On the day Rep. Steve Scalise and others were shot, seemingly for nothing other than being Republican, not only were we reminded of the consequences of a collapse in civil discourse, but many, including me, renewed our commitment to unity and called for a return to the respectful and civil disagreements that have shaped debate and the political landscape since the birth of our great nation. Our nation and the cause of freedom have been well served by robust and spirited debate.

In this era of 24/7 worldwide news, the President of the United States represents each and every one of us on the world stage. Globally, the President is America, and in this day and age, actions are seen by more and more people and scrutinized more and more intensely around the world. We are right to expect a higher level of civility, graciousness, and diplomacy from our President. We expect the individual who holds the office and the title to rise above the hubris and noise of the day.

While the President is human, and fallible like the rest of us, this current trend needs to stop. This week’s tweets were a step way too far, regardless of what personal exchanges or insults had been hurled. From health care to immigration to trade to infrastructure to terrorism, there are far too many pressing issues facing this country for petty squabbles to be on the President’s radar. I respectfully request, Mr. President, that you turn your focus to the issues we are working on in Congress – the positive solutions we are trying to get to your desk to make America great again. You are delivering on your promises, as are we. Let’s talk more about those and less about one another. The American people would be grateful.

No matter who you are – President of the United States, a cable news anchor, plumber, lawyer, welder, doctor – bombast and ratings should not rank higher than our shared desire to live freely in this country alongside our fellow Americans. We are blessed to live in a country where we are free to express our opinions, no matter how inflammatory or hyperbolic. As a legislator, I work daily to protect those freedoms. But we ought also to remember that we are all a part of a greater humanity, and that civility in our interactions – both personal and digital – is not only proper, but fundamental to a respectful and prosperous society. [all emphasis ours]

While most of the post is not a direct attack on Trump — it's an attack on cable news and Breitbart and, oh, hey, the kind of rhetoric Blackburn herself

at times — it's still remarkable that one of the most stalwart Trump supporters has finally had enough of his tweeting just six months into the presidency. It's not like Trump has changed one whit since the campaign, but maybe Blackburn was so blinded by the thought of Republican power that she refused to see that civility is not a trait Trump ever has or ever will possess.

In any case, Blackburn's message to Trump is not going to make any kind of difference. On Saturday morning Trump tweeted an insult to former Fox anchor Greta Van Susteren, again blasted CNN, complained about the state Secretaries of State (including Tennessee's Tre Hargett) who are refusing to go along with his attempt to pretend voter fraud exists, and finally posted this doozy of an "apology" to Brzezinski and her co-host and fiancé Joe Scarborough (whom he might have also attempted to partially extort over a National Enquirer story outing their relationship:

%{[ data-embed-type="oembed" data-embed-id="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881140479454310401" data-embed-element="aside">This is who you campaigned for, Marsha. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.