George Santos, the Republican Congressman from New York who is currently facing a federal indictment that alleges he is guilty of a wide variety of financial crimes, compared himself during a recent interview to Rosa Parks, the late icon of the civil rights movement… because why not.
Santos was referencing a spat he had with Utah GOP Senator Mitt Romney months prior when the longtime Republican politician told Santos he shouldn’t take up a seat near the front during President Joe Biden’s annual State of the Union address to members of Congress. (At least, that’s how the interaction has been characterized, particularly by Santos.) The thing is… Romney was expressing outrage at Santos for his documented history of lies that seem to cover a staggeringly broad swath of his life, from his personal and family backgrounds to his education and career.
And some of those claimed lies have even led to the indictment Santos is under, with federal prosecutors accusing the first-term Republican of having misrepresented his personal financial status to Congress when filing required disclosure forms. He was also accused of taking unemployment benefits for which he wasn’t eligible during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You want to call me a liar?” Santos said in an interview. “I’ll call you a sellout… Rosa Parks didn’t sit in the back and neither am I going to sit in the back. That’s just the reality of how it works. Mitt Romney lives in a very different world, and he needs to buckle up because it’s going to be a bumpy ride for him.” Is that some harebrained threat? Anyway, it’s apples and oranges between Santos and Rosa Parks.
Anna Kaplan, a Democrat running to challenge Santos (assuming he’s on the ballot) next year, had some thoughts. “Santos is not Rosa Parks. He is a fraud and an embarrassment to our district. Help me defeat him at the polls,” she posted on Twitter, linking to a campaign donation page. Check it all out below:
George Santos just said: “Rosa Parks didn’t sit in the back and neither am I going to sit in the back.”
Santos is not Rosa Parks. He is a fraud and an embarrassment to our district. Help me defeat him at the polls: https://t.co/pGxA9KA84f pic.twitter.com/0nnm2IOFgl
— Anna M. Kaplan (@AnnaMKaplan) July 10, 2023
