Republican New York Rep. George Santos called himself a “terrible liar” in an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” released Monday.
The show’s host, Piers Morgan, questioned the embattled congressman on the several fabrications made during his congressional campaign, including his Jewish heritage, employment at Goldman Sachs and graduating from Baruch College.
“I don’t categorize these as mistakes,” Morgan told Santos regarding the fabrications. “I think that part of your process of … redemption, if you like, has got to start from ‘I’ve been a terrible liar.’ Would you be prepared to say that?”
“Sure,” Santos said.
“Go on, then,” Morgan replied.
“Well, I’ve been a terrible liar on those subjects and what I try to convey to the American people is I made mistakes of allowing the pressures of what I thought needed to be done in order to — this wasn’t about tricking anybody … this was about getting accepted by the party here locally,” the New York congressman said.
“I’ve been a terrible liar…”
Piers Morgan grills republican George Santos, the man who’s been branded the biggest fibber in politics.
Watch it on TalkTV at 8pm.@piersmorgan | @Santos4Congress | @TalkTV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/bNaIDJLlzG
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) February 20, 2023
Santos told Morgan that he “regrettably” never in fact received a college education, but had earned a graduate equivalency degree (GED) after dropping out of high school due to his family’s financial struggles. He told Morgan he lied about his educational background due to the “expectations on society.” (RELATED: Who’s The Bigger Liar, George Santos Or Joe Biden? Here’s The Breakdown)
“I just think it was a stupid decision on my part,” Santos said about his lie. “Very stupid decision that I regret everyday especially because I can prove the chops and the backing without the education but this stems more deeper into the political apparatus and the political culture of New York state.”
The representative also admitted to never receiving a master’s degree from New York University in 2010, and claimed that the GOP added that to his resume without his knowledge.
Santos has been accused of lying about his mother, Fatima Devolder, being inside the World Trade Center when the September 11, 2001 terror attacks occurred despite records apparently showing no evidence that she worked there. The representative stood by his claim that his mother was in fact inside the building at the time of the terror attack, saying his mother told him she worked there and was, in fact, inside one of the Twin Towers.
“I stay convinced that that’s the truth,” he affirmed.
He further doubled down on the claim that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust, claiming they lied on their visa to immigrate to Brazil. The representative said it would be “awful” to lie about his family being Holocaust survivors.
Accusations arose that Santos stole $3,000 from a GoFundMe page aimed toward covering the costs of removing a tumor from a pitbull in 2015. The dog’s homeless owner, Rich Osthoff, accused Santos of cutting ties with him after setting up the fundraising page after having raised the money. The dog allegedly died from the illness without receiving the surgical procedure.
Santos denied these accusations to Morgan, saying he has never met Osthoff and has compassion for his situation.
“Most people who know me, who truly know me Piers, know that if he had met me, his dog would have received the surgery, he wouldn’t be homeless,” Santos said. “The fact that he was homeless and anybody trying to help him wouldn’t address the homeless issue was a bigger problem for me.”