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Donald Trump directed his rage at Rep. Debbie Dingell on Tuesday after she criticized his Christmas Day social media tirade, calling the Michigan Democrat a "loser" and appearing to — once again — mock her over her husband's death.
The former president posted on his social media platform Truth Social that Dingell and President Joe Biden are working to "destroy" the country. Trump also implied that Dingell wasn't sufficiently grateful for the funeral honors he granted her husband, John Dingell, who died in February 2019. At the time, Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the late lawmaker, who had served almost 60 years in the U.S. House.
"When I gave, as President, her long serving husband, the absolute highest U.S. honors for his funeral, a really big deal, she called me, crying almost uncontrollably, to say that she couldn’t believe I was willing to do that for a Democrat," he wrote. "She thanked me profusely. Two months later, she was back on the trail ranting and raving about 'TRUMP.'"
His post came after Dingell condemned his incendiary Christmas remarks in an interview with CNN earlier Tuesday. He spent part of Monday lashing out at his political enemies and baselessly accused Biden of interference efforts in the 2024 election.
"I’m going to tell you that I think it was one of the most pathetic Christmas greetings I’ve heard when a former president of the United States who wants to return tells people on Christmas Day that they can 'rot in hell,'" Dingell told CNN. "He is contributing to the divisiveness and division in this country."
Trump has made an ugly habit of targeting the spouses and family members of those who challenge him openly, as my colleague Ja'han Jones previously explained. This is not the first time Trump has invoked the death of Dingell's husband. After she expressed support in 2019 for his first impeachment, the then-president suggested at a campaign rally that her late husband was "looking up" from hell.
Dingell responded to Trump at the time, writing, "You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder."