On December 1, 2023, U.S. Representative George Santos was expelled from Congress. While his role in Congress only lasted a little under a year, he still created a catastrophe that could affect the rest of his career.
Being the first openly gay Republican to be elected to Congress, he was an important representation to people that you can be anyone you want to be while still having certain beliefs. Santos says, “I’m a gay married man, I am openly gay, have never had an issue with my sexual identity in the past decade, and I can tell you and assure you, I will always be an advocate for LGBTQ folks.” But after his actions, he is not someone that should be looked up to.
The disgraced congressman was accused of many things, including misuse of campaign funds, and embellishing his resume. According to NPR.org, “Santos was indicted on 13 criminal charges including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.” … “Prosecutors added an additional 10 charges in a superseding indictment, following a plea deal by a former campaign finance official affiliated with Santos’ campaign.”
When convicted, Santos pleaded not guilty; he stated “I am not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes.” The results of his removal were 311-114. Santos is one of the 21 members that has been expelled from Congress.
Not only can he not stop committing crimes, but he also can’t stop lying. His web of lies is so easy to be tangled in, that even he can’t get out. Some of the things he has lied about are where he went to high school and college, being Jewish, working on Wall Street, and so much more.
An article published by Business Insider states that “According to Hart, Santos displays “something like antisocial personality disorder” (ASPD) — being “bold” and “fearless,” “with a kind of irresponsible lack of impulse control.” People with ASPD “tend to not have remorse or guilt,” about lying, Hart added.”
When Freshman class president Donny Vo was asked about how he felt about this situation, he said “I feel that George Santos is not qualified to be a congressman, he is an absolute joke to our country.”
With all his newfound freedom and fame, he has started his path to success by creating personalized videos for people on the website Cameo. On Cameo, celebrities and influencers are paid by their fans to create specialized videos for events, birthdays, etc. The way Santos has handled the current events has had many different reactions from the public, while some think it’s great that he can find humor in the situation, others think that he is making a fool out of himself.
The group of people that are supporting him and his rise to infamy the most is Generation Z. He is being called a fallen diva and an icon. This is because he had to do whatever it took to get what he wanted in life.
For example, lying his way up to Congress with a majorly fake resume was terrible, but it was memorable and shocking that he got away with it for as long as he did. Also, using campaign funds for fillers and designer items is an iconic move whether it is moral or not.
(To be clear, being iconic is not the same as being a good person. It is more synonymous with being memorable.)
But not all the younger generation feels this way about him. Donny Vo added, “Everyone who thinks George Santos was a significance [sic] to our country doesn’t deserve the right to vote because they are uneducated, and they are uninformed, and they are influencing bad things. They support irrational, dysfunctional, and non-parliamentary producers.”
Iconic or not, Santos has done terrible things and is planning to return to Congress in the future, and with the continuous support that he is receiving, he will be able to stay relevant for a long time.
