"People want the content": Santos sits for interview with comedian Ziwe
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Ziwe Fumudoh's interview of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was released on Dec. 18. Photos: Swan Gallet/WWD/Getty Images and Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) gave insight into his post-Congress persona during a hotly awaited interview with comedian and writer Ziwe Fumudoh.
The big picture: Ziwe is known for her tough questions on race and politics — and Santos took the opportunity in only 17 minutes to lean into his growing notoriety since being expelled from Congress.
- The interview, which went live Monday, had more than 231,000 views the afternoon it was posted on YouTube.
Details: "I'll be back," Santos said during the interview, referring to the U.S. House.
- The 35-year-old Santos said he has not ruled out running for office again in the future, noting his former colleagues are decades older.
- As of now, he'd said he'd run as a Republican but would consider breaking away from the party as an independent. (Note: He can, technically, run again.)
"They're all frauds," he said of many lawmakers.
- "If a politician's mouth is moving on Capitol Hill, they're lying to you," he said.
- When asked about whether specific members of Congress were frauds, he said the following were: former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J) and Rep. Dan Goldman (R-N.Y.). However, he said Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) were not frauds.
Of note: Santos, who struggled to define "empathy" in the interview, knows eyes are on him right now.
- He told the Washington Post that he tried to match Ziwe's demeanor during the interview.
- The former representative previously said he made more money selling videos on Cameo in a week than he did after almost a year in Congress. (He's now charging up to $500 per video.)
Ziwe, at one point, asked him how he'd "go away."
- "Stop inviting me to your gigs," he said, later adding, "you can't because people want the content."
Between the lines: Santos could not identify a number of influential civil rights and political figures with notable positions in LGBTQ+ history, during the interview.
- He didn't know James Baldwin, Black American writer and civil rights activist, or Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.
- Santos was unable to share anything about what he knew about Marsha P. Johnson's legacy as one of the most prominent figures of the 1960s and 1970s gay rights movement.
Ziwe pressed Santos on topics including current events, confusing behaviors in office and previous racist and transphobic statements.
- But ultimately, nothing new came out of the interview.
- "Can you be mindful with the DOJ stuff?" Santos asked her before the interview began.
Catch up quick: Santos was expelled from Congress on Dec. 1 in a bipartisan 311-114 vote over his many lies on the campaign trail and two federal indictments, which include charges of wire fraud and money laundering. The expulsion followed a damning House Ethics Committee report.
- He was the first Republican and sixth lawmaker to be expelled from the House in U.S. history.
Go deeper: Rep. George Santos expelled from Congress in historic vote
