Trump Lashes Out at Kathy Griffin and Democrats

WASHINGTON — President Trump assailed Democrats and a television comedian on Wednesday in his latest Twitter blasts since returning from an overseas trip in which he had largely abstained from the sort of combative social media postings that helped propel him to the Oval Office and have gotten him in trouble ever since.

The president castigated Kathy Griffin, the celebrity comic and author, for posing for a video showing her holding what looks like the severed and bloodied head of Mr. Trump. The video touched off a storm of protests from people on all sides of the political spectrum, which forced Ms. Griffin to apologize, and CNN announced that it would fire her from the annual New Year’s Eve program she has co-hosted.

In a statement later in the day, the first lady, Melania Trump, questioned Ms. Griffin’s sanity. “As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing,” she said. “When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.”

The Trumps had the support of the daughter of the woman the president beat in last year’s election, among others.