Tulsi Gabbard (left), George Santos.Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty, Jackie Molloy/Bloomberg via Getty
As U.S. Rep.-electGeorge Santoscontinues speaking to various media outlets about how hefabricated several aspects of his past— from his education to his religious background — he’s facing staunch criticism from both current and former lawmakers.
Among them isTulsi Gabbard, a former U.S. representative and onetime presidential contender who recently announced she wasleaving the Democratic Party. On Tuesday, Gabbard interviewed Santos while guest hosting Fox News showTucker Carlson Tonight, questioning whether the Republican had any “shame” when it came to his “blatant lies.”
“If I were one of those in New York’s 3rd District right now, now that the election is over, and I’m finding out all of these lies that you’ve told — not just one little lie or one little embellishment, these are blatant lies — my question is: Do you have no shame?” Gabbard asked Santos.
Gabbard continued: “Do you have no shame? And the people who are now, you’re asking to trust you to go and be their voice for them, their families and their kids in Washington?”
“This is not about the Democratic Party, though. This is about your relationship, frankly, with the people who’ve entrusted you to go and fight for them,” Gabbard said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Santos said, “Look, I understand everybody wants to nitpick at me … I remain committed to delivering results for the American people.”
George Santos.Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty
Earlier this week, Santos apologized for fabricating several aspects of his past — including his education, jobs and religious background — but said that it will not stop him from taking the oath of office on Jan. 3.
In an interview with theNew York Post, theincoming congressman said he lied aboutworking at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had previously asserted, and revealed that he had also embellished his education, noting that he did not attend Baruch College or New York University.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning,” he told thePoston Monday. “I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume. I own up to that … we do stupid things in life.”
On Monday, Santos also denied that he had previously claimed he was Jewish, despite having previouslylaid claim to Jewish heritageon his campaign website and throughout his campaign.
“George’s grandparents fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII,“Santos' website readlast week. (The About page containing the information has since been removed from his site.)
Speaking to theNew York Post, Santos said: “I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.'”
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While Santos described the lies as “embellishing my resume,” Gabbard on Tuesday said the issue was much deeper.
“[These are] blatant lies — not embellishments. This is, I think, one of the biggest concerns, congressman-elect, is that you don’t really seem to be taking this seriously,” Gabbard said. “You’ve apologized. You said you’ve made mistakes … But a lie is not an embellishment on a resume.”
Gabbard continued: “You said you worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, but they’ve said, ‘We’ve got no record of this guy working for us.’ You’ve said you’ve gone to and graduated from these universities, but they’ve said, ‘Well we’ve got no record of that.’ These are blatant lies and it calls into question how your constituents and the American people can believe anything that you may say when you’re standing on the floor of the House of Representatives, supposedly fighting for them.”
George Santos.Sipa via AP Images
As Santos continued to claim that some of the supposed lies are actually “debatable” and “not false at all,” Gabbard asked: “Is it debatable or is it just false?”
Santos, in response, again claimed that he had worked with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup in various capacities, despite that both firms have said he did not work for them.
“I can sit down and explain to you … we can have this discussion that’s going to go way over the American people’s head,” Santos said.
Gabbard then said that Santos was “basically insulting [the] intelligence” of the American people, adding that he was “now back-tracking on these lies that you’ve told.”
“I think the time that is owed is to the people of New York’s 3rd [District],” Gabbard said in closing the interview. “It’s hard to imagine how they could possibly trust your explanations when you’re not even really willing to admit the depth of your deception to them.”
source: people.com
