OPINION: Who is George Santos? We’ll never really know

“Congressman-elect George Santos (R-NY) sits alone in the House Chamber surrounded by the children of other representatives on Jan. 3.” Photo by Jonathan Ernst, Reuters.

George Santos is the U.S. representative for New York's 3rd congressional district. He has held office for less than a month,yet quickly became a household name. Santos is well-known for his startling inability to tell the truth in any situation, including when running for office, rather than for his policies or eye-catching social media interactions.

Here is a catalog of the lies he’s told, as of 9 p.m. on Feb. 5.

An alternate identity

Starting off strong, George Santos is not the name he always uses. Anthony Devolder, a combination of his middle names, is Santos' other identity. It is unclear when or why he makes the switch. 

His mother’s life and passing

Santos has told several lies relating to his mother. In 2021, Santos tweeted that she worked in the South Tower and died in the events of 9/11. Later, his campaign website posted in his biography that Santos’s mother was in the South Tower during 9/11, survived and passed away from breast cancer a few years later.

The truth is, Santos’ mother died in 2016, according to her obituary. In 2001, she had not immigrated to the U.S. yet, and on 9/11 she was in Brazil. Documents shared on Twitter proved it is impossible for her to have survived 9/11 in the South Tower.

Even after getting caught in this lie, he continued. During his campaign, he said on tape that both of his parents died in 9/11.

“George Santos (R-NY) speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 19, 2022.” Photo by David Becker, Washington Post via Getty Images.

Earning a college degree

Santos claimed that he graduated from Baruch College in 2010, which he attended on a volleyball scholarship and led the team to stardom. In reality, Santos never attended the school, never played volleyball and does not have a college degree. 

His employment history

One of the earliest lies Santos got caught in was about his employment history. Santos said several times that he worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and was a real estate investor. Both companies told the media that they have no record of him working there. Additionally, Santos has not disclosed any of his properties and no journalist has successfully found records of them existing. 

A phantom of the opera

Most recently, Santos claimed to have been a producer of the musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” The musical lost $60 million in its three-year run, during which several actors suffered life-threatening injuries from stunts. Santos is not telling the truth. There are no records of him having any involvement with the show. This raises the question: Why did he pick this particular musical? If he’s already lying, why not pick a more successful show?

Trouble in paradise

Santos ran  as “The Gay Republican.” While he was married to a woman, this does not discount his sexuality. This coverage creates the narrative that gay people cannot come out later in life or cannot have been in a heterosexual relationship. This narrative erases many people’s stories. I will not be participating in this discussion. 

However, Santos was married to his wife until 2019. During his marriage, Santos was 26 years old and lived with his 18-year-old boyfriend in an apartment. Santos proposed to this boyfriend.

Simply not OK

Santos claimed that four of his employees died in the Pulse shooting. This was found to be untrue. 

“George Santos (R-NY) speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 19, 2022.” Photo by Wade Vandervort, AFP via Getty Images.

A dancing queen 

Santos also claimed to have never done drag, and recently sided with anti-drag attacks. This changed to saying he had dressed in drag, but was never a drag queen. In late January, it came out that while in Brazil, Santos was a drag queen who participated in pageants. This would not matter if he had not lied about it. 

The liar, the thief and the heartless

In 2016, a veteran, Rich Osthoff, sought financial help for his service dog’s life-saving surgery. Santos, under his alias Anthony Devolder, told The Queens Gazette that he founded and ran a nonprofit organization called Friends of Pets United from 2013 to 2018. However, NPR has not found records of a registered nonprofit under this name. After a veterinary technician at the clinic connected Osthoff with Friends of Pets United, Santos raised $3000 in a GoFundMe then refused to transfer the money for the dog’s surgery. Osthoff’s dog never received the surgery and died in 2017.

He’s “Jew-ish”
Another famous set of lies concerns Santos’s religious background. Santos proclaimed himself as Jewish, even stating that his grandparents survived the Holocaust. He walked back his claim to be Jewish, stating “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was 'Jew-ish.’” The Republican Jewish Coalition has banned him from all events.

Extra, extra, don’t read all about it

Santos excused himself from his Congressional committees, but does not seem interested in resigning. He seems torn between having a relationship with reporters, as seen by the Dunkin Donuts he left outside his office for them and running scared every time he sees one. 

Workplace bully

On Jan. 5, Derek Myers, a former volunteer staffer, filed an ethics complaint against Santos. Myers, who is from Ohio, claims that he accepted a job offer in Santos’s office, but was instead forced to work as a volunteer. When he pushed the issue, his job offer was rescinded. Myers is also filing a sexual harassment complaint against Santos. In the report, Myers states that he was asked about being on Grindr, and that Santos inappropriately touched him and asked him out. 

Enough is enough

Is this the future of the Republican party? Santos has blatantly lied about every aspect of his life and yet, he is still a member of the Republican party and a representative in Congress. Is the Republican party implicitly endorsing lying to win office? We must demand better of our leaders.