WASHINGTON (AP) – Rep. The beleaguered Republican George Santos came to the floor of the House most days to deliver a short speech – celebrating small businesses-owned by women, special high schools in the district or raising concerns about various states in crisis.
At other times, he can be seen running through the halls of the US Capitol as lawmakers do, from one meeting to the next. He once delivered donuts to the press corps leaving his office.
Far from being chastened by widespread criticism, ridicule and rejection that Santos has received after having admitted to fabricating many aspects of his life story, the newly elected congressman breezily performed in Congress. He refused to ask for a full retraction while rewriting the narrative in real terms.
For Santos, it’s a top-down approach that would have been almost unthinkable in previous generations, but one that signals the new norms he’s taking in the midst of a post-truth era in Congress.
“I was elected by the people who came here to represent them, and I do that every day,” Santos told the Associated Press in a brief interview on the House floor. “It is a difficult task. If I said it was easy, I’d be lying to you – and I don’t think that’s what you want, do you?”
Pressed about the idea of a post-truth era, Santos said, “I think the truth is still very important.”
Probably not since Donald Trump launched his presidency with a big statement about the size of the crowd at his inauguration, elected officials have come to Washington and tried so boldly and defiantly to convince the public of a different reality than before.
Santos has come of age in politics at a time when he was unable to do so in civilian life, when sworn members of the US Congress can continue, business as usual, despite having allegedly lied to voters about their resume, experience and personal life while running. for elected office.
While Santos faces an investigation – by the House Ethics Committee and the district attorney in New York – as well as questions from previous allegations in Brazil, where he lived for some time, he seems unfazed by the challenge.
Just a few days ago, Santos submitted the documents to be eligible for re-election.
“It used to be that when politicians lied, and were caught, they were ashamed – or there was some accountability,” said Lee McIntyre, author of “Post-Truth” and researcher at Boston University.
“What I see in the post-truth era is not just people who lie or lie, but they lie for political purposes,” he said. “The scariest part is getting rid of it.”
At stake is not just “truth,” as comedian Stephen Colbert once called the falsity of public life, but a broader question about the expectation of truth from political leadership.
Santos has admitted he has portrayed himself as someone he is not – not a college graduate, not a Wall Street expert, not from a Jewish family who survived the Holocaust, not the son who lost his mother in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.
At that point, more questions flowed, including about the origin of a $700,000 loan he made to campaign for Congress and his self-reported wealth.
Republican Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York, a freshman who won last fall’s election from the neighboring Long Island district, said: “I don’t think it’s a political situation. I think it’s an individual situation – and the country is in one of the delusions.
D’Esposito has introduced a pair of bills that would prevent elected officials from profiting from wrongdoing and said he is working with others to ensure Santos is not “the face of our party. We have been very clear. He is not our brand. He is not part of us.
When Santos recused himself from committee duties while the investigation was underway, he withstood pressure from Republicans to resign and Democrats to be ousted from office.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who won a slim Republican majority by just a few seats, said voters chose Santos and “he has the right to serve.” If wrongdoing is found, Santos could be removed from his post, he said.
“He should have resigned a long time ago,” said Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the freshman class Democratic president who sponsored a resolution to oust Santos.
“It’s not just Democrats saying this and my Republican friends in New York,” Garcia said in an interview. “No one wants him in DC”
But Santos seems emboldened as his profile rises, even parodied on “Saturday Night Live.” He has introduced his own bills in Congress – including one requiring cognitive tests for the president – and is trying to move them forward.
“I have owned up to it, and I came clean,” he said referring to the public apology he made in December.
When President Joe Biden arrived to deliver his State of the Union address last month, Santos angered his colleagues by positioning himself in the center aisle — a place to see and be seen greeting distinguished guests. He was mocked by fellow Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who said it was inappropriate for Santos to be “parading in front of the president” and others.
“Senator Romney just echoed what I’ve heard all my life, right, from minority groups, from poor families: Go to the back room and shut up. Nobody cares about you,” Santos recalled. “Well, I won’t do it.”
Santos often turns the tables, engaging in something that has become common in modern politics – a verbal backflip to compare his actions to others, even if the circumstances are incomparable.
“You know,” said Santos, “don’t you ever lie? Think hard.”
This is what McIntyre calls a classic “disinformation tactic” designed not to create clarity but confusion, and to avoid accountability.
Asked if he was here, Santos said, “I am here to do the job that I was elected for the next two years.”
But will he vote again? “Maybe.”