Among the series of lies and half-truths George Santos told during his fantasy journey of first being elected and then being kicked out of Congress, what he said about his early campaign for Long Island's House seat. wasn't exactly true. lie.
That hasn't been true for a long time.
Less than seven weeks after announcing he would seek a return to Congress, Santos, the fabulist former congressman from New York who is facing federal charges, announced on Tuesday that he would end his latest bid for Congress. Announced.
In a move typical of Mr. Santos, whose loose relationship with the truth is widely documented, he gave two clear reasons for withdrawing from the race.
In a social media post, Santos said he was concerned that he and Republican Rep. Nick Larota, who is seeking to unseat him, would split the conservative vote. “I don't want to split the ticket or be responsible for handing the House to the Democrats,” he wrote.
Santos, who has made dubious claims about his Jewish ancestry and fabricated connections to the Holocaust, said he was particularly concerned given the “rise of anti-Semitism in our country.”
Minutes after Santos' post, talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw spoke up. shared a clip of the interview In a survey conducted earlier in the day, Santos offered a more pragmatic inference.
“There is no way you can succeed in an independent campaign,” said Santos, who is used to shifting accounts. (A spokesperson said the interview will air in its entirety next month on “Dr. Phil Primetime.”)
Santos' decision abruptly ended his long-held plans to return to Washington. It wasn't even clear if he was going to mount a serious challenge.
The former congressman has lost all standing among local political leaders and most voters, who associate his career with bold prejudices more than with any particular political views.
Mr. Santos was also suspected of defrauding donors and was expected to have difficulty raising campaign funds. The former congressman, who is facing charges related to falsifying campaign finance reports, did not raise money in the initial stages after announcing his campaign, according to campaign finance reports.
Mr. Larota, the incumbent running in a right-leaning district, did not take Mr. Santos' campaign threat seriously.
Shortly after Santos said he was terminating his bid, Larota responded on social media: “Chat GPT Translation. He's taking a plea deal.”
Santos became the sixth congressman to be expelled in the organization's history last year. His firing, which came in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, came after a House Ethics Committee report found “substantial evidence” that Santos had violated federal law. Mr. Santos' time in politics is said to be a regret that he used to get rich.
Mr. Santos is currently charged with 23 federal felonies, including money laundering, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors have accused him of defrauding donors, submitting false campaign finance documents and collecting unemployment checks when he actually had a job.
A House ethics report found that he spent campaign funds on Botox, branded products and a website known for its explicit content.
After being expelled last year, Santos vehemently vowed never to return. A few months later, he kept his promise and went to the Capitol for the State of the Union address, after which he announced his intention to return to the House of Representatives.
Mr. Santos' criminal trial is scheduled for September. His social media posts did not rule out the possibility of his return to politics, saying his decision would be limited to “this year.”
“For now it's just goodbye,” Santos wrote. “I'll be back.”
