Rep. George Santos (R-NY) claimed in a recent interview that he did not believe his resume fabrications would be discovered because he “got away with” the same deceptions during his unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2020.
Santos made the revelation during a 40-minute conversation with television host Piers Morgan, which was made public on Monday. Throughout the conversation, Morgan pressed Santos on a number of recent statements he made that drew a lot of attention.
In an interview with Santos for his show, “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Morgan remarked, “To run for Congress of the United States and to just tell blatant lies about even your academic background — I’m just struck, not only that a politician would lie, but that you would assume no one would find out.”
Santos replied, “Okay, I’ll humor you with this. “I successfully ran for the same congressional seat in 2020 and got away with it then.” “Fine,” responded Morgan. “Oh, that’s silly to be honest. You truly believed they wouldn’t find out, right? Santos answered, “I didn’t think so, no. So in that regard, having to own your flaws as a human being is unpleasant and humbling.
In the 2020 election, Santos ran for the House seat representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, but he was defeated by incumbent Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) by a margin of just over 12 percentage points. Suozzi, however, decided not to run two years later, and Santos won by nearly eight percentage points.
Santos has been under intense scrutiny since before he took the oath of office for misrepresenting parts of his past and submitting financial disclosure papers that raised concerns. The congressman has admitted to inflating aspects of his resume, and he did so again on Monday, despite his intention to complete his term.
Many MPs from both parties have called for Santos’ resignation, and several organizations are reportedly investigating him.
Throughout the conversation, Santos referred to himself as a terrible liar. The congressman, in particular, claimed that pretending to have a college degree from Baruch College when he didn’t was “a really stupid move that I regret every day.”
“I did not receive a college education,” Santos said at another point in the conversation. That is, unfortunately, one of my major life regrets. When asked why he lied about his educational background, the lawmaker cited “pressure” and “societal expectations.”
Morgan inquired about Santos’ resume while he was still discussing his education. Santos responded that he had a master’s degree in business from New York University as well as a GMAT score of 710.
The congressman claimed that he did not “provide” the CV and is unsure how the score was calculated. According to Santos, “I have no idea where that GMAT came from.” That is never mentioned in my bio or on my website.
“But you don’t have a business master’s degree?” Santos replied “no” when Morgan pressed.
Santos claimed, “I never provided or submitted the resume.”
Santos said, “I have no idea where that came from,” when asked who contributed it.
“Neither I nor anyone connected to me provided it. I’m still attempting to figure out where that came from, but it came from the GOP,” he continued.
During the debate over Santos’ fabrications, the congressman admitted that his credibility had been harmed and that restoring it would be difficult.
Morgan had a realization after discussing his thoughts on Santos’ dependability.
“The problem you seem to have, congressman, is that you admit to certain huge lies and then deny other huge lies, and the problem people have is that they don’t know when you’re lying and when you’re speaking the truth,” he continued.
“How can I be sure now that I’m not even sure?”
Big Wall Street big hitter, you’ve stated in your campaign profiles that you went to this university, played volleyball for this team, and earned this degree, but all of this has proven to be false, he added.
“So I don’t know what to believe when you now look me in the eye and say well actually, no, this is true.”
Santos was optimistic about regaining his reputation.
Okay, that’s the situation I’ve put myself in. I understand, he added.
“I’m going to have a tough time and a long road to rebuild my credibility, but I’m clear-eyed and confident I can accomplish it.”
During the interview, the congressman also stated that, despite endorsing former President Donald Trump’s allegations of election fraud, he has yet to hear from him and has not met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The New York Republican called Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has not asked Santos to resign, a “terrific leader for the Republican party.”
McCarthy responded, “I haven’t had that chat with him,” when Morgan questioned whether or not he thought Santos should “continue on.”
