Democratic consultant Ben Tribbett really ruffled some feathers on Tuesday when he tweeted that kids who didn't wear masks to school were "d***heads" and should receive lower grades. He doubled down on such language throughout the day, which included referring to Del. Nick Freitas, a Republican who represents the 30th district, as "Small D*ck Nick." What's even more scandalous about Tribbett's language, though, is the level of influence he has. For instance, he's helped with tweets for Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louis Lucas and has served as an advisor to Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA).
Tribbett's offensive nickname for Del. Freitas came in response to the delegate quoting Tribbett's tweet about children and noting that "Democrat political operative says the quiet part out loud." Freitas also later quoted Tribbett's tweet with a dig at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who has claimed that her Republican critics want to date her. "AOC says attacks like this mean you want to date me," Freitas tweeted on Tuesday evening.
Freitas confirmed to Townhall on Wednesday afternoon that Tribbett has not apologized, and shared he does not know of any Democrats calling Tribbett out. He offered that "I think they're all kind of hoping it goes away."
Freitas is more so focused that other Democrats might follow Tribbett's line of thinking.
"Obviously, the comment is outrageous," Freitas pointed out. "We've just gotten so used to it, right? We've gotten so used to this sort of behavior from some members on the other side of the aisle, whether it be consultants or even elected officials. So to some degree, what's infuriating about it is that, again, people like Senator Louise Lucas and others, are taking these sorts of things seriously, and obviously, the things he's saying and what he's suggesting is highly problematic, but I don't know how far off the market it is from what, certainly not all Democrats, but many prominent Democrats think is true," he shared. Freitas emphasized that "it's not that the comment's not outrageous, it's just that the part where I think a lot of us have just gotten kind of used to this."
Freitas also offered that "it actually explains a lot," when it comes to Democrats in the Virginia Senate. Lucas frequently takes aim over Twitter at Glenn Youngkin, the Republican governor who took office last month.
Matt Wolking, who worked on the gubernatorial campaign Youngkin, tweeted a screenshot of Tribbett's tweet and as well as an excerpt from reporting by Patrick Wilson for the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
In an interview, Lucas said Ben Tribbett, a Northern Virginia political consultant, and other consultants post “some” of the tweets from her account. She said she approves in advance anything that is posted.
“I call him for advice and he helps me out sometimes,” she said of Tribbett, who she said does not receive any pay for the work.
Sen. Lucas had publicly called out Ned Oliver, who had previously worked for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for approaching her to ask a question. Oliver now works for the Virginia Mercury.
I am very press friendly so trying this kind of tactic with me is not only rude, but doing so in between meetings disrupts my work as a legislator. If the Mercury wants to maintain any credibility with legislators they need to hold their "journalists" to a better standard.
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) February 1, 2022
I want to be clear- reporters have the right to ask legislators questions in between meetings on legislative matters. Unfortunately that was not what occurred this morning.
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) February 1, 2022
On Tuesday night, Lucas' also tweeted out support for Pocket Aces Consulting, which Tribbett is president of.
I run my own social media and have loved being here on Twitter with you. I have to shout out @ConsultingAces who helped show me some of the tricks on here and keep me up to date on what’s being discussed.
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) February 2, 2022
Rep. Elaine Luria has not addressed that she has turned to Tribbett for political consulting, as reported by Robert Walker for Shore News Network on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday night, the tweets from Tribbett are still up. This may explain why we can't expect an apology or retraction any time soon.
I said it and I meant it. Ratio away.
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) February 1, 2022
That ratio, as of Wednesday evening, includes nearly 2,000 replies, with 637 of the 676 retweets being quoted tweets, many of them calling out Tribbett. It has just 118 likes.
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