Ben Shapiro SMACKS butthurt Tommy Vietor for this 'absolutely BATSH*T INSANE' smear

Last week, the New York Times’ Bret Stephens tweeted about an article in Haaretz stating that according to a Kuwaiti report, the Obama administration warned Iran about an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian General Qassem Soleimani:

https://twitter.com/BretStephensNYT/status/948653540439928837

A couple of days ago, Ben Rhodes — whose history with regard to Iran is, shall we say, highly problematic — got wind of Stephens’ tweet and, well, he was pretty pissed:

I missed this but it is outrageous to suggest this – just jaw-dropping that a NYT columnist would propagate this kind of garbage. https://t.co/w92y1Db7p6

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 10, 2018

Former Obama NSC spokesman Tommy “Dude” Vietor was pissed, too:

Yeah WTF Ben? Immediately confirm or deny this totally unsubstantiated claim and then tell us why you don't support assassinations.

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 10, 2018

What followed was a heated back-and-forth between Stephens and Vietor. The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra documented the exchange:

SHOCK: Former Obama Official Hints Admin Warned Terrorist That Israel Was Going To Assassinate Him https://t.co/xwPNUSygFu

— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 11, 2018

And also suggested that this tweet from Tommy Vietor confirmed the Kuwaiti report:

We were well aware of the dangers posed by QS and the IRGC. Obama sanctioned them repeatedly, among other deterrents. But an assassination of QS by Israel would be destabilizing to put it mildly.

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 10, 2018

Bret Stephens thought that’s what Vietor was doing:

https://twitter.com/BretStephensNYT/status/951241640861143041

Today, the fight continued:

I didn't work in the White House three years ago, but Ben did and he already denied it. Regardless, you could've tried to confirm this without spreading the lie via Twitter. Good to see you're bringing the same intellectual rigor you apply to climate change to national security.

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 11, 2018

Steve Bannon protege @benshapiro should be embarrassed to have published this. At no point did I confirm this story. I didn’t even work at the White House when it is alleged to have happened. This is why Breitbart was garbage before Bannon made it Nazi garbage. https://t.co/HOpsEZqPgq

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 11, 2018

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/951508390404087808

What a little shit

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 11, 2018

If Vietor thinks the Daily Wire unfairly characterized his tweet, that’s one thing. Though, let’s face it: When it comes to Iran, the Obama administration’s record is decidedly less than sterling.

1. Tehran Tommy did not deny story, if you read through the exchange.

2. Where Tehran Tommy worked at that moment makes little difference.

3. Tehran Tommy apparently has no sense of the history between Shapiro and Bannon. https://t.co/xBm78HmDUt

— Crusty Gobblestein (@NathanWurtzel) January 11, 2018

Exactly. Characterizing Ben Shapiro as a “Steve Bannon protégé” is a pretty crappy — not to mention desperate and juvenile — tactic. And it’s pretty damn unfair, too.

Of all the Steve Bannon proteges, @benshapiro is the most infamous

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) January 11, 2018

Wow, shocking new image of Bannon protege @benshapiro following in the footsteps of his master pic.twitter.com/M8JHtoct7f

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) January 11, 2018

Snort! But really, Tommy’s out of his mind. As Ben Shapiro so succinctly points out:

Our story is an accurate telling of your exchange with Bret Stephens. Please point out the falsehood. I’ll point out one of yours: calling me a Bannon protege is absolutely batshit insane. https://t.co/5dQs0DGPQQ

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 11, 2018

Yep.

I’ve been waiting for this reply! pic.twitter.com/sekSNqXWqI

— Ogles (@mdoglesbee) January 11, 2018

There was more:

Suggesting i confirmed the original story is ludicrous. I didn’t even work at the White House at that time. You don’t want to be compared to Bannon then don’t emulate his journalistic standards.

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 11, 2018

You defended the Obama administration not by denying the story but by saying Israel shouldn’t have touched the head of the Quds force.

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 11, 2018

It’s pretty simple: Tommy brought a knife to an intellectual gunfight. And he lost — BIG TIME.

https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams/status/951534127123222529

The only problem is your credibility, since nobody has been more of a Bannon critic than @benshapiro. Nice try “dude.” https://t.co/7ZjigVOzWK

— Black Labrador (@AntiqueSully) January 11, 2018

https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/951530983546908676

That’s good advice, Tommy.

There are plenty of Obama hacks that I dislike, but are at least marginally qualified people. Tommy Vietor isn't one of them.

— NeoN: Automataster (@neontaster) January 11, 2018

Shut up and drive the van, boy. https://t.co/KKUTdwS5DV pic.twitter.com/OQdFMb3xTI

— ?It's?Almost ⛄️Christmas? (@jtLOL) January 11, 2018

***

Update:

For those wondering about Bret Stephens’ since-deleted tweet at Tommy Vietor:

Bret Stephens seems to have deleted his tweet calling Tommy Vietor "an asshole." https://t.co/MXEITFWqxN pic.twitter.com/LZL19gHWgH

— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) January 11, 2018

Here’s what happened:

NYT spox: "We agree that this tweet was inappropriate and it has since been deleted by Bret, who regrets he sent it."

— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) January 11, 2018

OK, but: