George Santos may have been expelled from the U.S. Congress, but he’s not going anywhere, the disgraced politician told comedian and interviewer Ziwe on Monday.
“I’ll be back. I’m 35. They’re all in their 50s. I’ll outlive them, each and every one of them,” the disgraced Republican politician told Ziwe during a sit-down interview on her YouTube channel about his political future. Santos added he’ll remain in the media spotlight, whatever his future, “because people want the content.”
When asked about possibly going away to prison, given criminal charges he faces, Santos shot back: “That’s a below the belt.” He faces trial next year in New York after being indicted on 23 counts of stealing from his campaign and lying to Congress. Santos pleaded not guilty, but is reportedly in talks on a possible plea deal.
He was expelled on Dec. 1 as a U.S. House member following a scathing ethics report on his conduct after details about his life story were found to be embellished or false. The allegations against Santos include, as a cash-strapped candidate for the U.S. Congress, spending campaign funds on personal items, including luxury fashion clothing from Ferragamo and Hermès.
He happily showed off his Ferragamo shoes during the YouTube appearance, but insisted he didn’t own any Hermès clothing. “I don’t actually own Hermès stuff, other than the cologne, that’s all I wear from Hermès. Oh, and the bracelet,” he added, lifting his wrist to show off the bling.
On U.S. Congress members he once sat among, Santos didn’t hold back. “They’re all frauds. If you were to put them all under the same scrutiny I was put under, you’d vacate the whole goddam building,” Santos said.
Will he run for public office again? “Not now, but in the future I’m not ruling it out,” Santos claimed, and likely as a Republican, though he could possibly run as an independent.
“They’re hacks. They’re not doing anything but lying to you. If a politician’s mouth is moving on Capitol Hill, they’re lying to you,” Santos added as he spared no vitriol for fellow politicians, even as he insisted he no longer is one.
Santos taped the interview with Ziwe last week, and it was unveiled on the social media platform on Monday. As a comedian/writer/interviewer, Ziwe is famous for her uncomfortable, nearly satirical interviews with stars about racial and gender politics.
Her sit-down with Santos, complete with frequent stare-downs and eye-rolling, ranged over his time in the U.S. Congress, Nicki Minaj (Santos rapped some Minaj verses when asked to prove he was a fan), Drag Race and Donald Trump.
“Gen Z loves Trump. He’s an icon,” Santos insisted. The producers of the YouTube interview before it started disclosed Santos asked for compensation three times, but did not receive any when appearing alongside Ziwe.
The interview streamed on YouTube as Showtime recently canceled the late night talk show Ziwe after two seasons. Santos praised Bowen Yang for his Saturday Night Live impression, but bristled when Ziwe asked if Yang may play the disgraced ex-Congressmen in the HBO movie now in development.
“That movie is not ever going to happen. That book has no perspective of me or anybody close to me. It’s f–king fiction,” he insisted. “You love fiction, though,” Ziwe then added, which only elicited another uncomfortable stare-down with Santos.
HBO Films is developing a movie about Santos based on Mark Chiusano’s book The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos. He is, however, apparently writing a book about his own life story.
The project does appear in its earliest stages. “It’s under development. We’re doing a market study on it,” Santos revealed.
