The highly anticipated sit-down was nearly 18 minutes of pure, unabashed chaos
Published December 19, 2023 3:16PM (EST)
Ziwe sits down with George Santos for a groundbreaking interview. (Photo courtesy of Ziwe/Youtube)
Ziwe’s highly anticipated interview with ex-New York Congressman George Santos has finally aired and as expected, it’s nearly 18 minutes of pure, unabashed chaos.
Earlier this month, Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives after more than 300 of his peers (including 105 Republicans) voted him off in the wake of several misdeeds brought against him. Santos pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges — including for wire fraud, identity theft, lying to federal election officials, money laundering and stealing thousands of dollars from his campaign donors — in October, when early efforts to expel him were unsuccessful.
A report from the House Ethics Committee found that there was “substantial evidence” that Santos “knowingly” violated federal laws. Specific allegations included that Santos spent campaign cash on vacations, Botox, a subscription to OnlyFans and plenty more. Following his ouster, some of his fellow Republicans branded Santos a “liar” and a “fraud,” a “sick puppy” and a man with no shame.
Santos’ downfall has inadvertently turned him into a sort-of celebrity on the internet, which is where he spends most of his time these days. Santos has garnered fame on Cameo, the personalized video-sharing service on which he claims to be making over $80,000 a day. He also recently announced an X subscription where he promises to “spill tea” on Congress for just $7 a month. And although he’s not involved there will be an HBO biopic made, which will follow the “Gatsby-esque journey” of a man who “waged war on truth.”
In his sit-down interview with Ziwe, the disgraced lawmaker faced several hard-hitting questions regarding his time in Congress, crimes, supposed knowledge of Gen Z and future endeavors. In true Ziwe fashion, the comedian managed to repeatedly outsmart Santos, who now describes himself as a “former congressional ‘icon.’”
Icon? More like, “I-con.”
Here are the 16 wildest moments from the interview:
Before the actual interview began, an on-screen message (appearing in all-caps) reads, “No congressmen were paid in the making of this interview . . . even though George Santos asked . . . three times.”
Behind the scenes footage also reveal that Santos asked Ziwe to be “mindful with the DOJ stuff,” referring to the Department of Justice’s scathing reports into his many misdeeds.
Santos made headlines back in July when he compared himself to one of the esteemed civil rights activist: “Rosa Parks didn’t sit in the back, and neither am I gonna sit in the back,” Santos told “Mike Crispi Unafraid,” a right-wing podcast.
In his interview with Ziwe, Santos reiterated his adoration for Rosa Parks, saying he even had a portrait of Parks in his office. Ziwe then tested Santos’ knowledge of various civil rights icons and asked what they meant to him. Turns out Santos, who became the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress, knows little or nothing about queer history.
When asked to share his thoughts on Marsha P. Johnson, a befuddled Santos told Ziwe, “very respectful, honorable person.” When asked to elaborate on his choice adjectives, Santos simply said, “on all stances and all the work.”
Next on the list was James Baldwin, a name Santos has never heard before: “Who the hell is James Baldwin? Who’s James Baldwin?”
Santos was also unfamiliar with Harvey Milk: “I have no clue who that is.”
Although Santos has never formally declared himself a Barb (an ardent fan of Nicki Minaj), it’s clear that he’s a big one. Santos once named his anti-vaccine bill after the “Starships” rapper. Called the MINAJ Act, the so-called medical freedom bill was given that name to “bring more engagement into public policy,” Santos told CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer.
Santos called Minaj a “queen” when Ziwe brought up her name. He even rapped a few bars from Minaj’s 2010 hit song “Monster.”
“Pull up in the monster, automobile gangsta,” Ziwe started before Santos finished the verse, “With a bad b***h that came from Sri Lanka.”
Instead, he was there to “expose the rot and corruption” in the nation’s capital, which he said he succeeded in doing.
“Republicans and Democrats alike, swampy and slimy people selling this country down a river,” Santos said.
He also owned up to the label “messy b***h,” which Ziwe used to describe both his personality and affinity for drama.
“You can call me a messy b***h. I’ll take it. I’ve been called worse. I’ll take it,” Santos quipped. “Can you make a pin and mail it to me? I’ll wear it. I’ll wear your ‘messy b***h’ pin any day.”
He simply said, “I like paying taxes,” and displayed a toothy smile.
According to Santos, he’s not the only one who dabbled in fraudulent behavior and illicit activities. His former colleagues have all committed fraud. Many of them are still committing fraud to this day.
“If you were to put them all under the same scrutiny that I was put under, you’d f**king vacate the whole goddamn building,” he said rather confidently.
Santos refrained from naming names, but he did agree to reveal who are (and aren’t) fraudsters on Ziwe’s list of contentious political figures. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz are in the clear. But Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham, Bob Menendez (who Santos nicknamed “Goldbar Menendez”) and Dan S. Goldman (who Santos said owes “$180,000 worth of rent right now”) are all frauds in Santos’ book.
The topic of babies was brought up when Ziwe confronted Santos about the time he was caught on camera carrying a baby through the halls of Congress. The baby, Santos revealed, belonged to a fellow staffer. Santos said he “was taking the baby to introduce him to another member of Congress.”
“Do you plan to adopt Black?” Ziwe later asked.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Santos replied. “Especially because I can probably make a Black baby on my own. Granted my dad and my entire dad’s family because I’m biracial.”
For the record, Santos has claimed to be Ukrainian, Jewish and Black. In a July 2020 tweet, he revealed that he was biracial while complaining about the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”:
“#MLK did not die for us to go back to segregation. As a biracial person I stand tall against segregation of any kind,” Santos wrote. “This so-called ‘Black anthem’ is the most divisive thing I’ve ever seen. We are all #Americans under one flag and our anthem is the #StarSpangledBanner!”
When asked how many Black friends he has, Santos said, “I have plenty [of Black friends]. I have too many to count. Seriously . . . I don’t see color. I grew up in Queens.”
“I’m not a politician, never was, never will be,” he said, adding that he defines himself as “an elected public servant for 11 months.”
Santos also “hate[s] politicking” and thinks the country needs more independent thinkers, but not like Jill Stein:
“[Jill Stein] is a Russian asset, according to Hillary Clinton, and I believe Hillary on that one. [I’m an asset] of no one.”
“I hate war. Peace is the way to go,” Santos said while discussing whether or not he supports a call for an end to the violence in Gaza.
That being said, Santos made it clear that he doesn’t support a cease-fire:
“We don’t negotiate with terrorists. War against terror should never be undermined . . . period. Hamas is a terrorist organization.”
As for how he would bring peace to the Middle East, Santos said his solution is “very simple.”
“Eradicating terror cells, like Hamas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda . . . I mean there’s so many to name . . . the point is that if we go after all the terrorist organizations and cells, we will bring peace to the Middle East and the world . . . It’s a good cause.”
The biopic in question is HBO Films’ adaptation of “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos,” a book by writer and reporter Mark Chiusano. The film is described as a “story of a seemingly minor local race that wound up a battle for the soul of Long Island, and unexpectedly carved the path for the world’s most famous (and now disgraced) congressman.”
HBO is set on going through with the project, even though Santos isn’t too thrilled about it.
“That movie’s not ever gonna happen,” he said bluntly. “The book has no perspective of me or anybody close to me. It’s a f**king fiction.”
Santos has a keen eye for fashion. His outfit for the interview consisted of Ferragamo shoes, an Hermès bracelet and a suit, which Santos revealed is from a Black-owned company available at Macy’s.
“How many stolen credit cards did you use to pay for this look?” Ziwe asked, clearly throwing shade at Santos’ alleged charges of stealing donor IDs and making unauthorized charges to their credit cards.
All Santos had to offer in response was a blank stare.
Santos pretty much told on himself when he said he wouldn’t steal from Sephora or Ulta because he doesn’t commit “petty crimes.”
Ziwe then promptly clarified that Santos only engages in “white-collar” crimes. Cue another blank stare from Santos.
“You know what’s great about that? Empathy, to me, is probably . . . I don’t understand it because people accuse me of having no empathy,” he said. “Maybe I can’t define empathy.”
Santos, however, believes he does have empathy: “I couldn’t define it. But I believe I’m empathetic to causes, to people, to situations.”
The viral moment occurred when Ziwe asked Santos if he was like Tinkerbell: “If we stopped clapping, would you disappear?”
Santos simply said “no” before Ziwe posed another scathing question: “What could we do to get you to go away?” He clapped back immediately, saying the only thing people can do is to “stop inviting me to your gigs.”
For now, that means “Dancing with the Stars” for Santos and no “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” although Santos said he would love to “read a b***h” if he got an invite from the latter.
Regardless, the lesson here is to stop inviting and featuring Santos. Of course, that’s easier said than done because Santos knows that a controversial figure like him is guaranteed to make headlines: “But you can’t, cuz people want the content.”
Santos may have been expelled from Congress, but he’s not letting that stop him from making a comeback . . .
“I’ll be back,” Santos said. “I’m 35, they’re [his peers] are all in their 50s. I’ll outlive them, each and [every] one of them.”
Watch the full interview below, via YouTube:
Joy Saha is a staff writer at Salon, covering Culture and Food. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.
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