House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s (R-New York) Democratic opponent, Matt Castelli, was under fire recently for posting a photo of Stefanik’s family, including their one-year-old son.
Castelli ran into Stefanik at the Washington County Fair on the last weekend of August, and he decided to use the opportunity as a photo-op with the congresswoman.
“The great Washington County Fair welcomes folks from all over, including this nice family from outside of #NY21,” the Democrat tweeted in an attempted jab over redistricting.
The picture included a photo of their son, and Stefanik’s husband, Matt Manda, did not hesitate to tell Castelli to delete the tweet.
“.@CastelliMatt delete this photo immediately and never post a pic of our 1-year-old son again,” Manda said.
.@CastelliMatt delete this photo immediately and never post a pic of our 1 year old son again. https://t.co/Cg8pbhKmPk
— Matt Manda (@matthewmanda) August 27, 2022
Castelli honored Manda’s request and acknowledged the deletion.
“Deleted a post from earlier tonight out of respect for @matthewmanda‘s request. The post contained a photo of me saying hello to their whole family at a public event,” he said.
Deleted a post from earlier tonight out of respect for @matthewmanda’s request. The post contained a photo of me saying hello to their whole family at a public event.
— Matt Castelli (@CastelliMatt) August 27, 2022
Stefanik’s senior adviser, Alex DeGrasse, said in a statement that Castelli is “desperate.”
“Downstate Democrat Matt Castelli from Poughkeepsie is desperate. Not only was Castelli reportedly pushed out of the NSC because of unethical and unprofessional behavior, such as drinking on the job and sleeping with female employees while collecting overtime at the White House as cited by Biden administration officials. Castelli shamefully trolled Elise’s one year old son on social media. Castelli was clearly trying to hide his blatant carpetbagging, but constituents and voters were so outraged and the backlash was so fierce, that he deleted it,” DeGrasse said.
“This is a sign of a campaign in free fall. Voters are smart and they know he is a downstate liberal who’s never even voted in New York before launching his campaign. He will get crushed at the ballot box just like every other Far-Left liberal before him has. And by the way Castelli’s attempt at trolling, it will be his first and last milking contest at the Washington County Fair – an event Congresswoman Stefanik has participated in for a decade,” he continued.
While critics can make the argument that Stefanik and her husband have photos of their son on social media, meaning they should not take issue, the difference is that they are the parents, and they did not consent to Castelli posting a photo of him. It’s that simple.
