Right-wingers want George Santos back, call GOP ‘pathetic’
George Santos has been expelled from US Congress. (Getty)
Right-wing pundits are reportedly pining for George Santos’ return just months after he was expelled from Congress.
Talking heads from across the right-wing media spectrum began criticising the Republican leadership over Santos’ expulsion after his seat was recaptured by Democratic candidate Tom Suozzi.
The disgraced New York Republican was expelled from Congress in December following multiple ethics violations and criminal charges brought against him, becoming the first House rep to be expelled in over a decade.
Following the vote, a special election was held to fill Santos’ vacant seat, with the GOP choosing Mazi Pilip as their candidate.
Suozzi won the congressional seat on Tuesday (13 February) with 53.9 per cent of the vote compared to the GOP’s 46.1 per cent.
In response, several right-wing pundits from across conservative media outlets, including the Daily Wire and the National Review, not only blasted the Republican Party for its “pathetic” loss but outright said they believed Santos’ expulsion to be a mistake.
In an episode of his Daily Wire show on Wednesday, far-right talk show host, Michael Knowles, complained that Republicans were going to “give up” a majority influence in Congress over what he described as “principles that no one applies.”
Not only did George Santos lie about many of the credentials that helped get him into office, throughout his short-lived tenure, the Republican also lied about having “lost four employees” in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, being a Wall Street alumni, and that his mother died in the 11 September World Trade Centre attack.
Despite this and several more lies that Santos is known to have made, Fox News show Fox & Friends host, Lawrence Jones, said on an episode of the show that the seat was too good to give up over ethics and investigations.
“Republicans voted to get rid of one of their members. Great job, now you’ve lost the seat,” Jones said. “You can’t get anything passed.”
Suozzi’s win was partially due to his controversial stance on immigration, according to several news outlets commenting on the vote’s aftermath.
In its article, the New York Times said that Suozzi’s pledge for immigration reforms, which included demands to “close the border” and calling for the deportation of criminal migrants, “may have just helped write a playbook for how to do it.”
Anti-immigration Republicans were particularly angry after Pilip condemned a bipartisan Senate deal which included border security provisions that right-wing politicians had demanded.
National Review editor Dan McLaughlin, said in a post on Twitter/X that he believed the Republican’s decision to put “reputation for ethical standards above the party’s immediate self-interest” would be a decision it would “live to regret.”
Right-wing online show host, Benny Johnson, said the Republicans were “addicted to losing” and blasted the decision to drop Santos.
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