Anyone who’s taken a passing look at the news lately knows it’s been a bad week for George Santos. Charged with crimes ranging from false statements to fraud on Wednesday, the former golden boy of the Republican Party may be about to end his career in a spectacular flame-out even his most ardent detractors couldn’t have predicted.
When the 34-year-old representative from New York’s 3rd congressional district flipped the seat in the November midterms, it was celebrated by Republicans as a rare and significant victory. This was a once-safe Democratic seat, where people voted for Joe Biden by a double-digit margin in 2020. How did Santos do it? As his house of cards comes tumbling down, the answer seems to be: By fictionalizing himself into the perfect candidate.
