Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) — the guy who lied about serving in Vietnam for decades — decided to pull a theatrical stunt at Tuesday’s DHS oversight hearing with now former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. He had three detained immigrants stand up in the hearing room, hoping to tug heartstrings and embarrass the Trump administration over ICE enforcement. It did not go the way “Da Nang Dick” planned.
Not even close. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) turned Blumenthal’s little show into one of the most devastating moments in recent Senate history — and it took him about fifteen seconds.
“Since we’re having folks stand up,” Schmitt said, “I would have Laken Riley stand up. I would have Kayla Hamilton stand up. I would have Jocelyn Nungaray stand up. I would have Rachel Morin stand up. I would have the beautiful sons and daughters who were murdered by illegal immigrants stand up — but they can’t, because they’re dead.”
Boom. Hearing over. Pack it up, Dick.
Blumenthal had asked three people to stand — Leonardo Garcia Venegas, Javier Ramirez, and Marimar Martinez — all of whom he claimed were U.S. citizens “wrongfully arrested” by DHS. He wanted to turn the hearing into a show trial against Kristi Noem and ICE. Instead, Schmitt turned it into a memorial service for the Americans that Joe Biden’s open border got killed.
But Schmitt wasn’t the only one who took Blumenthal apart. Noem herself went straight at him.
“Sir, do you know who Angel Samaniego is?” Noem asked. “Recognize that name?”
Blumenthal just stared.
Noem explained that Samaniego was murdered in Blumenthal’s own state of Connecticut by an illegal alien. Duct-taped. Looked like an assassination. “I haven’t heard you say one victim’s name from illegal immigrants that are here perpetuating violence against people,” Noem told him.
Did Blumenthal then name a victim? Of course not. He went right back to talking about his three standing props. The man who faked his way through Vietnam can’t even acknowledge a murder victim in his own backyard. (Some things never change with this guy.)
For those who don’t remember, Blumenthal got at least five deferments during Vietnam. He then joined the Marine Reserve, which was never deployed overseas. Totally safe. Stateside the whole time. But for years, he told audiences things like “We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam.” The New York Times caught him in 2010. His defense? He “misspoke.”
Sure, Dick. You “misspoke” — repeatedly, over many years, at multiple events — about serving in a war you dodged. Totally normal thing that happens to people.
This is the guy Democrats chose to be their attack dog on immigration. A man who lied about his own military service lecturing us about the “rights” of detained immigrants. You truly cannot make this stuff up.
And here’s the thing — this isn’t even the first time Democrats have stepped on this rake. Remember the State of the Union? When Trump recognized the mother and sister of Laken Riley, Democrats refused to stand. Ted Cruz said he’d never seen anything like it in thirteen SOTUs. The clip went everywhere. Democrats created a viral moment — for Republicans.
Where This Is Going
Mark my words: the Schmitt clip is going to be in Republican campaign ads for the next eight months. Not because the GOP is clever, but because Democrats keep manufacturing their opponents’ best material for free.
Here’s the math that should terrify every Democrat strategist who watched Tuesday’s hearing. In battleground districts heading into the 2026 midterms, Democrats have a negative 58 net approval rating on immigration. That’s 19 percent approve, 77 percent disapprove. Republicans? Negative 11. Not great, but compared to negative 58? That’s a forty-seven-point gap on the single issue Democrats keep choosing to make into a theatrical production.
(Hey, campaign managers — maybe stop staging dramatic moments on your worst issue? Just a thought.)
Every time Democrats try to turn a hearing into an immigration sympathy play, they create a viral moment that goes in exactly the wrong direction. Blumenthal wanted America talking about detained citizens. Instead, America is talking about Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin, and Kayla Hamilton. Again. Because Schmitt’s response is the clip that gets texted to the group chat, not Blumenthal’s question.
This is a pattern now, not an accident. The SOTU refusal to stand. The hearing stunt. The DHS shutdown standoff. Democrats have decided that being the party of “ICE is too mean” is their play heading into the midterms. And every time they run that play, they hand Republicans another thirty-second ad that writes itself.
“But they can’t, because they’re dead.”
Try running against that in a swing district. We dare you.
The Democrats who need to win back suburban voters — the same voters who flipped to Trump over exactly this issue — are watching their Senate colleagues stage hearing-room theater that only works inside the D.C. bubble. Out in the real world, in the districts that actually matter, those stunts land like a brick through a window. Blumenthal’s window, specifically.
Keep it up, Democrats. Seriously. We’re begging you.
