Friends -

This morning, the president of the United States took to Twitter to attack me.

As you may recall, I don’t follow the president on Twitter anymore. So a staffer had to flag it for me. Here’s what he said:

Let me explain what the Logan Act is. Put simply, it says that only the president and authorized citizens can negotiate with a foreign government on behalf of the United States.

But here’s the thing - I’m the Ranking Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East. It’s literally my job to meet with regional leaders, as members of Congress of both parties do regularly.

Last weekend, I met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to carry three simple messages: don’t allow Iranian proxy forces to attack U.S. forces in Iraq; let humanitarian aid reach citizens in Yemen; and release unlawfully detained U.S. citizens.

I’ve been transparent about everything I discussed with Zarif on the sidelines of a security meeting in Germany. I conveyed apolitical priorities, in line with U.S. foreign policy. That’s my job.

President Trump is making up attacks on me because his Iran policy has been a total disaster, and he knows it. His campaign of blind escalation has made Iran stronger and America weaker. Iran has restarted its nuclear program. They’ve launched rockets at our troops. They’ve increased support for their proxy forces in the region.

And his policy is made more dangerous by his refusal to have any diplomatic channel of communication with Iran. Not talking to your enemies risks miscalculation. And Trump is the global miscalculator-in-chief.

So his attacks are not going to keep me from doing my job — fighting for our best interests abroad and defining a progressive foreign policy vision. I’m asking you to have my back in that fight:

Will you make a $3 donation to support my work fighting Donald Trump’s reckless foreign policy agenda and defining a progressive national security vision for our party? Your contribution helps me focus on the important work you expect me to do in the U.S. Senate.

Thank you in advance for making a donation today. It means a lot to me.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy