The Santos version of the American Dream

Republican representative George Santos took his seat in the US Congress this month despite revelations that parts of his CV and personal history are “largely fiction”.

Santos was elected to Congress in the midterm elections in November after a campaign in which he sold himself as “the full embodiment of the American dream”. But his “victory lap” has been “short-lived”, said the BBC, as several major newspapers, led by The New York Times, revealed that large parts of his CV and personal biography were simply made up.

New revelations about Santos are emerging on an almost daily basis. He now faces serious questions over a number of other apparent fabrications, including the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death, his “questionable” campaign finances and “allegations of pilfering from a fundraising campaign for a dying dog”, said USA Today. He has insisted he will not resign from Congress despite facing several investigations as well as cross-party calls for him to go.

When Santos won an eight-point victory in New York’s 3rd congressional district, an area that had previously favored the Democrats, it was considered “a mild upset”, said The New York Times. He had lost “decisively” in the same district in 2020 to Democratic incumbent Tom Suozzi, and seemed to be “too wedded to former President Donald J. Trump and his stances to flip his fortunes”.