President Trump mocked New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who quit Twitter after taking offense to a man calling him a bedbug, claiming Stephens was responsible for the bedbugs recently found in the newsroom.
Trump said the bedbugs were “perhaps brought in by lightweight journalist Bret Stephens, a Conservative who does anything that his bosses at the paper tell him to do!”
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“He is now quitting Twitter after being called a ‘bedbug.’ Tough guy!” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
“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
In a memo to staff on Monday, the New York Times said it had “discovered evidence of bedbugs” on three floors and the affected areas had been treated and professionally cleaned.
David Karpf, a George Washington University professor, then joked on Twitter that the bedbugs were a metaphor for Stephens. Karpf said Stephens emailed him and the university provost to complain about the tweet.
The columnist was widely mocked for the action, leading him to deactivate his Twitter account. He then appeared on cable news to address the controversy, saying the bedbug comment was “dehumanizing rhetoric.”
