Rep. George Santos (R-NY) gave an agonizing defense of his record of lying in a Newsmax interview on Wednesday. In the wake of his re-election bid announcement, the GOP lawmaker said he wished “every politician would go on TV and admit when they lie,” and talked up delivering “a very conservative platform.” But anchor Rob Schmitt pressed Santos on his serial lying. “You say you lied, you say you made mistakes—I mean, who are you? Are you what they say you are, or are you just somebody… Did you lie just to make a better story? I mean, just tell me who you are?” Santos answered: “I am George Santos. I am the son of immigrants. The kid who came from a basement apartment, worked my butt off to get to where I did.” The lawmaker then stumbled as he said the word “honestly” and insisted: “I didn’t steal, cheat, kill or anything.” Schmitt also asked Santos about The Daily Beast’s story this week concerning new questions around Santos’ campaign finances. Santos responded by claiming The Daily Beast is “no friends of conservatives.”
