Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) slammed Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) over “blatant lies” about his background.
While filling in for Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Gabbard said, “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?”
She added, “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?”
Santos responded, “Tulsi, I can say the same thing about the Democrats. Look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden has been lying to the American people for 40 years. He’s the president of the United States. Democrats resoundingly support him. Do they have no shame?”
Pushing back against Santos, Gabbard pointed out one of the questions hitting home for many people is whether Santos is Jewish.
“My heritage is Jewish. I’ve always identified as Jewish. I was raised as a practicing Catholic,” Santos said.
He explained, “Not being raised a practicing Jew, I’ve always joked with friends and circles, even within the campaign, I’d say, guys, I’m ‘Jew-ish.’ Remember, I was raised Catholic.”
Santos added, “So, look, I understand everybody wants to nitpick at me. I’m gonna reassure this once and for all. I’m not a facade. I’m not a persona. I have an extensive career that I worked really hard to achieve. And I’m going to deliver from my experience because I remain committed in delivering results for the American people.”
Watch the interview below:
Concluding the interview, Gabbard told Santos, “We’ve given you a lot of time. I think the time that is owed is to the people of New York’s 3rd. It’s hard to imagine how they could possibly trust your explanations when you’re not really even willing to admit the depth of your deception to them.”
Santos admitted to making up parts of his biography during an interview with The New York Post, as IJR reported.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said. “I own up to that … We do stupid things in life.”
Additionally, Santos said he used a “poor choice of words” when sharing his employment history.
“My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry,” Santos said.
