CNBC’s “Squawk Box” segment derailed Tuesday after host Joe Kernen and pollster Frank Luntz traded barbs about incoming New York Republican Rep. George Santos’ fake resume.
Santos admitted to lying on his resume about several aspects, such as being an employee of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as well as graduating from college. Santos also claims to have Jewish ancestry but said he “never claimed to be Jewish.” The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) pushed back against the claim and said that “to us personally he previously claimed to be Jewish” and that Santos would “not be welcome at any future RJC event.”
Kernen appeared to defend Santos, saying other politicians have lied on their resume, including Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal.
“It is hard to throw stones. As far as … you go back to the ’70s for Biden, I’m not sure he knows if he is lying. That’s the problem at a certain point,” Kernen said. “He never talked about Hunter or any business.”
“Don’t do this, don’t do this,” Luntz jumped in.
WATCH:
“Oh yeah, Mr. ‘Come Together’?” Kernen said. “You stirred up a lot of stuff over the years, Frank. This is the country we’re in right now, Frank. I’m sorry. You and Arthur Brooks can hold hands and sing Kumbaya.” (RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Confronts Admitted Liar Congressman-Elect To His Face)
“You have things that the public desperately needs. We have a crisis at the border. We have a retirement savings crisis to fix right now. We have inflation that is still out of control, and we are arguing over something that happened, in some cases, 20 or 30, or 40 years ago,” Luntz shot back.
“And we started with Santos,” Kernen said. “You talked about Santos. It is all fair game.”
“Our viewers want results. They want aspects of the economy to be addressed. They want foreign policy to be addressed. You are arguing over something that is minute. Get your act together,” Luntz shot back.