One of the weirdest stories of the 2022 political cycle has been the series of revelations about George Santos, who was elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

A series of reports by The New York Times and other outlets have revealed that nearly every detail about Santos’ resume and backstory has been a lie, including his education, job history, ethnicity and possibly his sexual orientation. Despite these blatant lies, Santos has refused to step down and has shown up to Congress to participate in the chaotic first days of the new Republican-controlled House. But as more info comes out about Santos, it appears the newly-elected Congressman is a liar and a racist.

1. Sharing Racist Obama Meme

The most shocking instance of racism alleged against Santos came in November 2020, shortly after he lost his first congressional election. Joshua Sauberman uncovered an old post on Santos’ Instagram page from 2014, when Santos shared a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama that had been crudely altered to make them look like apes.

Santos did not deny sharing the photo but instead asked readers if they had “read the footer as to what I said,” presumably implying that his captions on the image indicated some non-racist reason for sharing it (they don’t).

2. Claiming Black Heritage

In defending himself against the racist photo, Santos claimed to be the “son of a black man and raised in a very bi-racial family.” This is one of several times he’s claimed biracial or Black heritage. While Santos has already been caught lying about his ethnicity by falsely claiming World War II-era European Jewish heritage despite his family being in Brazil much longer before that, his claim to Black heritage would not necessarily contract his family’s roots in Brazil. The Afro-Brazilian population is estimated to comprise over half of the country’s citizens, making it the biggest Black population outside of Africa and one of the largest in the world.

Nevertheless, there is no evidence to support the claim that Santos is biracial or that he came from the union of a white mother and a Black father. So far, there hasn’t been much information revealed about Santos’ father, while he has been caught in several lies about his mother, including telling multiple contradictory stories about when and how she died — making all of his claims about his parents suspect at best.

3. Promoting Anti-Black Policies

Santos’ claims of Black heritage are particularly relevant and worth scrutiny not just because he’s lied about so many other things, but because he’s used his alleged background to push conservative and anti-Black policies. For example, in July 2020, Santos evoked Martin Luther King Jr. and his own “biracial” identity to object to the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” commonly known as the “Black national anthem.”

Santos spent much of the summer of 2020 condemning the Black Lives Matter movement while tweeting hashtags like #TakeBackOurCountry.

He’s also supported bans against “critical race theory” and ”woke” curriculum, repeating Republican dog whistles used to censor acknowledgment of racism in U.S. history and current institutions. Santos also dismissed both Vice President Kamala Harris and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as having been chosen “based on race and sex” instead of picking “the best person for the job.”

In short, Santos has engaged in many racist tropes and talking points that other far-right politicians have used to attack Black leaders and push repressive policies. But Santos has taken it further by engaging in these racist dog whistles while claiming to speak as a biracial Black man. As Santos’ lies catch up with him, he may have limited time to push this anti-Black agenda within Congress.

George SantosNew York StatePOLITICS