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Australia’s Political Brawl Has Another Winner: A Popcorn Seller in Texas

Peter Dutton — not the Australian politician — selling his wares at a farmers’ market in Austin, Tex. “It’s been nothing but love,” he said of his sudden Twitter fame in Australia.CreditAudreana Dutton
By Daniel Victor
Aug. 24, 2018

Peter Dutton, an Australian politician, was defeated in his efforts to become prime minister this week.

But Peter Dutton, a popcorn seller in Austin, Tex., turned a fleeting moment of mistaken identity into fame on the other side of the world, plans for a new vacation and a potentially lucrative business opportunity.

The latter Mr. Dutton, 30, experienced a now-common social media phenomenon: Sharing the name of a person in the news, he (@PeterDutton5) received a barrage of messages intended for his namesake (@PeterDutton_MP). This being Twitter, most of the messages were less than pleasant.

It has happened many times before, and will happen many times again. Ask George Papadopoulos, Jonathan Martin or Gerry Sandusky.

But Mr. Dutton was able to capitalize on it. Charmed by his responses on Twitter, hundreds, if not thousands, of Australians have clamored for him to visit, and some donated to a crowdfunding page to buy him a plane ticket. They’ve offered him places to stay and, in classic Australian fashion, bottomless beer.

“There’s been a love felt through the internet that I’ll never forget,” Mr. Dutton, who now calls himself the “People’s Prime Minister of Australia,” said by telephone from Austin — soon after the other Peter Dutton learned that he would not be getting the real job.

Mr. Dutton, the politician, who had hoped to replace Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, is one of Australia’s most conservative public figures, known as a particularly staunch supporter of its zero-tolerance policy toward migrants who try to arrive by boat.

He is roundly loathed by many Australians on the left side of the country’s political divide — which may account for the enthusiastic reception for the other Peter Dutton, once the confusion was cleared away.


Peter Dutton
@PeterDutton5
I wish the people of Australia would look at my profile and realize I’m a 30 yr old black man before sending me tweets and DMs.

CNN
?
@CNN
Former Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced he will again challenge the country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as party leader, the second such move in three days https://cnn.it/2PtnmNk

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9:17 PM - Aug 22, 2018
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8,884 people are talking about this
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After his first tweet about the mix-up, Mr. Dutton set his phone down, not thinking much of it. But within minutes, more than 1,000 people had “liked” it. His wife, trying to fall asleep, asked why he was still awake.

“Twitter” is rarely a satisfying answer to that question, but he explained what was happening.

“She’s like, ‘What have you gotten yourself into?’” he recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t know, but the people of Australia have spoken.’”

Typically, when someone becomes an instant viral sensation, they quickly learn that anonymous people like to say awful things. But no such thing happened here: “It’s been nothing but love,” he said.

Many Australians seemed to appreciate the break from this week’s political intrigue, which ended on Friday with Mr. Dutton’s rival Scott Morrison becoming prime minister after days of infighting. People praised the Texas Dutton’s sense of humor and offered good wishes for his soon-to-come daughter. And maybe he wouldn’t mind running for prime minister?


Peter Dutton
@PeterDutton5
· Aug 23, 2018
Replying to @PeterDutton5
This has been a lot of fun. I have to get some sleep now, wife is 20 weeks and we get to see our baby girl at our appt today.????

Anything donated will go to our biz and getting Soul Popped to Australia.
Love you all, mates! https://www.paypal.me/peterdutton5


Pay Pray EveryDay To Expect Results using PayPal.Me
Go to paypal.me/peterdutton5 and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

paypal.me

Rusty ????
@Rusty1808
Thank you for making this dismal day a lot of fun. You’re alright mate! See you Down Under ????

7:10 AM - Aug 23, 2018
5
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Peter Dutton
@PeterDutton5
· 20h
And since we’re all family now and a few of you have asked.... here is our precious baby girl from this mornings visit. Looking like her mother already. She has her hand on her ear and doc says everything looks great! #BabyDutton pic.twitter.com/OQfxWznddQ

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Marianne Cullen
@MarianneCullen1
It has been so lovely to watch this positive social media interaction in amongst the bullying, bitterness and recrimination we've come to expect/accept. Congratulations and best wishes to you and your family. Thanks for sharing!

9:30 PM - Aug 23, 2018
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Peter Dutton
@PeterDutton5
· Aug 22, 2018
I wish the people of Australia would look at my profile and realize I’m a 30 yr old black man before sending me tweets and DMs.

Former Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced he will again challenge the country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as party leader, the second such move in three days https://t.co/C7Uiz6r64R pic.twitter.com/O1luNX3iEG

— CNN (@CNN) August 23, 2018

…


Leah
@sayandskotann
We await your arrival! Get here fast, mate. We need your help. And bring the popcorn.

4:09 PM - Aug 23, 2018
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He is already working with Amazon in Australia to bring his soul food-inspired snack, Soul Popped Popcorn, to the market, and he plans to visit with his pregnant wife before she is due in January. He was interviewed on an Australian morning show on Friday, and news stations are eager to put him on camera during his visit, he said.

Before this week, all he knew about Australian politics was that there was some guy there with the same name as him, Mr. Dutton said. He would occasionally field a tweet directed at the politician, which he would respond to by politely directing the mistaken Australian to the correct account.

Had Mr. Dutton, the politician, succeeded in his bid for prime minister, the popcorn-selling Mr. Dutton might have seen many more misfired tweets, and perhaps a longer stay in the consciousness of Australians. But the one from Texas said it was no loss for him.

“He lost, but I was never running the race,” Mr. Dutton said. “The people’s prime minister is the race I was running. I promised the people I would bring popcorn and myself.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/world/australia/peter-dutton-twitter-texas.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage