'What in heaven’s name': GOP rep linked to X account that defends him in Mary Poppins voice

21 March 2024

A relatively unknown freshman member of Congress once had a staunch defender on social media who posts in the voice of title character in the 1960s film Mary Poppins.

According to an article by Daily Beast reporter Riley Rogerson, there are numerous similarities between Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-New York) and the X/Twitter account @MPoppinsNY. That account, which was created in August of 2022, tweeted just over 200 times, with its last post on May 26, 2023. Many of that account's tweets were direct attacks on Josh Riley, who was Molinaro's general election opponent in 2022 (Riley is also running in the 2024 Democratic primary for New York's 19th Congressional District).

"The account—which features a profile photo of Poppins suspended midair holding her signature umbrella—essentially ran an unofficial rapid response operation for Molinaro, who won a highly competitive campaign for a New York swing district in 2022 and is attempting to do so again in 2024," Rogerson wrote.

One example of the account's bizarre tweet style is its latest tweet from last May, in which it quote-tweeted a post from Riley. In that post, Riley suggested that when Molinaro was Dutchess County's executive, he directed $140 million in Covid-19 relief funds to a luxury hotel project. Riley referred to his opponent as "Mark," instead of the "Marc" spelling the congressman uses.

"Oh dear, @JoshRileyUE. What in heaven’s name are you talking about?" The account wrote, tagging Riley's official campaign account. "And, you might want to learn to spell."

"While The Daily Beast could not confirm who runs the account, there are signs that it could be someone with access to Molinaro’s own social media accounts," she continued, noting a clear link between Molinaro and @MPoppinsNY in one particular tweet. Despite its attacks on Riley, the @MPoppinsNY account quote-tweeted a post from Riley announcing the birth of his second child, writing "@JoshRileyUE There is no more challenging or rewarding role than that of parent. Congratulations to you both. Corinne and I wish much happiness and new blessings to your growing family."

That tweet was identical to Molinaro's own response to that tweet, which said the exact same thing but didn't have a period at the end of the post.

"A half-hour later, Molinaro’s official X account quote-shared Riley’s post with the same caption verbatim, including the period that the Poppins account had added," Rogerson reported.

Molinaro is running for a second term in the 19th district, which could be even more competitive in 2024 than it was in 2022, as voters will be going to the polls under newly redrawn maps. And after Rep. Tom Suozzi flipped the seat previously held by disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-New York), freshman Republican lawmakers in the Empire State could be particularly vulnerable in November.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has a paper-thin majority in the House, and could lose the speaker's gavel if Democrats flip just three seats in 2024. That net gain could happen just in New York, which helped the GOP take the House majority in 2022 under the maps that now no longer exist.

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