Trump is a ‘Con Man and a Grifter’ Like George Santos: Ex-GOP Congressman

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A prominent former GOP lawmaker is denouncing former President Donald Trump as the same kind of “grifter and con artist” as embattled New York Republican George Santos.

Santos was elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District in the midterm election last November. However, before he was actually sworn in, reports surfaced that he fabricated many aspects of his backstory, including his education, work history, charity work, family history, and religious identity, among many others.

Santos has refused to resign from the House of Representatives, despite calls for him to do so from both sides of the aisle. On Wednesday, leaders of the Nassau County Republican Party called for his “immediate resignation,” and the list of GOP lawmakers adding their voices to that chorus has only grown since then.

On Sunday, Joe Walsh blasted Santos during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Katie Phang Show. Walsh previously represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District from 2011 to 2013 as a Republican, but later left the party after becoming a vocal critic of Trump—launching a failed presidential primary challenge against him. While critical of Santos, Walsh also wondered how the GOP could call for his resignation while Trump, whom he called a similar type of “grifter and con artist,” is also running for president again in 2024.

“How to party [that] has a trickster and a grifter—who used to be president and is now running for president again, he’s the leader of the Republican Party. How can they ask Santos to resign if Trump is still there?” Walsh asked host Katie Phang.

So far, House Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have been hesitant to call for action against Santos. Many experts suspect that House GOP leaders are not addressing the issue over concerns that removing Santos from office would further jeopardize their near-thin Democratic majority. Last week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the issue would be dealt with “internally.”

Former President Donald Trump, inset, Representative George Santos, a New York Republican. Former Republican Joe Walsh on Sunday blasted both men as both “grifter and con artist.” Saul Loeb; Win McNamee/AFP via Getty Images; Getty Images

“It’s something that’s being handled internally,” Scalise said at a press conference. “Obviously, there are concerns about what we’ve heard, and so we need to sit down and talk to him about it.”

On Thursday, McCarthy said that, while he has “a long way to go to earn trust,” Santos is still “part of the Republican conference.” Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and chairwoman of the House GOP Conference, referred to Santos as “a duly elected member of Congress” in an interview with CNN.

Newsweek has reached the offices of Santos and Trump for comment.

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