Rep. George Santos (R-NY) said on Monday that he expected to get away with fabrications to his resume because he had gotten away with telling them during his bid for Congress in 2020.
Santos admitted that he had gotten away with lying during an interview with TV host Piers Morgan, who interviewed Santos for a segment of Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Morgan expressed his surprise at Santos believing he’d get away with lying.
“To run for Congress of the United States and to just tell blatant lies about even your academic record — I’m just struck, not necessarily that a politician would lie but that you would think no one would find out,” Morgan said.
“Well, I’ll humor you this,” Santos responded. “I ran in 2020 for the same exact seat for Congress, and I got away with it then.”
When Morgan pressed Santos further on whether he thought anyone would find out, Santos claimed he truly did not. Santos then said, “It’s embarrassing; it’s humbling to have to admit your faults as a human being.”
Santos has been at the heart of controversy since shortly after the midterm elections in which he secured his first term in Congress. Santos previously ran for the House in New York’s 3rd Congressional District in 2020, but he lost by 12 points to then-Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY).
Some of the lies Santos has admitted have been about his mother dying as a result of the 9/11 attacks, as well as his education. Members of both parties have called for the congressman’s resignation, but Santos has insisted on carrying out his term. Several groups are also reportedly looking into the legality of Santos’s deceptions.
During Monday’s interview, Santos acknowledged his lies about his education, admitting he did not graduate from Baruch College.
“I did not attain a college education,” Santos told Morgan. “That, regrettably so, is one of my biggest regrets in life.”
Morgan told Santos that the biggest problem with the congressman was that he could no longer be trusted.
“The problem you have, congressman, seems to me is that you admit to certain big lies, and then you deny other big lies, and the problem people have is they don’t know when you’re lying and when you’re telling the truth,” Morgan said. “I’m not even sure now because how can I be? Because you’ve claimed on campaign bios you went to this school and this volleyball team and achieved this degree, big Wall Street big hitter, and all these things turned out not to be true. So when you now look me in the eye and say, ‘Well actually, no, this is true,’ I don’t know what to believe.”
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Santos admitted he understands the issue, but he was optimistic about regaining the public’s trust. However, when asked if he would have run knowing the pressure he would face, Santos responded, “Absolutely not.”
