President Donald Trump mocked The New York Times columnist Bret Stephens Wednesday, calling him a “lightweight” for quitting Twitter after being called a “bedbug.”
“The infestation of bedbugs at The New York Times office … was perhaps brought in by lightweight journalist Bret Stephens, a Conservative who does anything that his bosses at the paper tell him to do!” Trump tweeted.
The president continued, “He is now quitting Twitter after being called a ‘bedbug.’ Tough guy!”
“The infestation of bedbugs at The New York Times office” @OANN was perhaps brought in by lightweight journalist Bret Stephens, a Conservative who does anything that his bosses at the paper tell him to do! He is now quitting Twitter after being called a “bedbug.” Tough guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2019
The “bedbug” insult was first lobbed at Stephens on Tuesday when reports circulated that the Times’ office had a bedbug infestation. George Washington University professor Dave Karpf joked, “The bedbugs are a metaphor. The bedbugs are Bret Stephens.”
The bedbugs are a metaphor. The bedbugs are Bret Stephens. https://t.co/k4qo6QzIBW
— davekarpf (@davekarpf) August 26, 2019
Stephens found the tweet and decided to email Karpf and Karpf’s boss, asserting, “I would welcome the opportunity to come to my home, meet my wife and kids, talk to us for a few minutes, and then call me a ‘bedbug’ to my face.”
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Karpf posted the email on Twitter, prompting Stephens to deactivate his Twitter account and complain on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the insult was “dehumanizing.” (RELATED: NYT’s Bret Stephens Lets The Bedbugs Bite)