An interview with Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on the far-right One America News Network (OAN) grew tense after he was asked why he hadn’t shown much remorse for deceiving voters to get elected.
The sit-down started out with a volley of softball questions, but the mood took a turn when host Caitlin Sinclair noted: “History has shown that the American people can pretty much forgive anything, but that starts with a sincere apology, normally. A lot of remorse shown. Prevailing opinion is you have not yet shown that.”
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“I don’t know what you mean by that,” Santos replied.
“Well, you seem angry,” Sinclair pushed back.
“I’m not angry at all,” Santos said.
“Are you sorry?” Sinclair asked.
Santos insisted he was. “I’ve said I was sorry many times,” he said. “I’ve behaved as if I’m sorry. Look, if you want to compare emotions, people show emotions differently. I am sorry. I’m deeply sorry.”
“I don’t know what is asked of me right now when you ask, ‘Oh, you have not shown remorse’ or ‘You don’t seem to look sorry,’” he continued. “I don’t know what looking sorry looks like to you, Caitlin.”
Since admitting to misrepresenting much of his background during his campaign, Santos has taken a combative approach to backlash, criticizing the media for reporting on the extensive fibs he told to get into Congress. Though he’s said “sorry,” he’s continued to characterize outright lies as “embellishing” his résumé. In Tuesday’s broadcast, he continued to lie, complain about the media and make excuses for his behavior.
“I know that a lot of people want to create this narrative that I faked my way to Congress, which is absolutely, categorically false,” he said.
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Santos has refused repeated calls to resign, despite polling showing that a large majority of his constituents ― 78% ― want him to. Just weeks into his tenure, he is under federal, local and international investigation. On Tuesday, he announced he would step down from his two committee assignments.
Among the myriad accusations against Santos: campaign finance fraud, pretending that his mother died as a result of Sept. 11 (when she died over a decade later), claiming falsely that his grandparents fled the Holocaust, and lying about being a college volleyball star, Santos has admitted that he never went to college, even though he previously claimed he got a 3.89 GPA.
