Congressman-Elect George Santos, Who Lied About His Ethnicity, Jobs And Education, Also Promoted A Racist Agenda

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.

This was found on the official Instagram account of #GOP #NY3 candidate @Santos4Congress. Does @NassauGOP even vet? #Election2020 https://t.co/K1VqzEV4sC pic.twitter.com/R1QzuaTFt7

— Joshua Sauberman • זאוברמן (@JoshForNY) November 16, 2020

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).

I’m sure you read the footer as to what I said? @JoshForNY it’s going to be hard to sale your BS when trying to acuse me of racism. I’m son of a black man and raised in a very bi-racial family. Good luck to you trying to smear me and god bless you.

— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) November 16, 2020

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.

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.”

#MLK did not die for us to go back to segregation. As a biracial person I stand tall against segregation of any kind. This so called “black anthem” is the most divisive thing I’ve ever seen. We are all #Americans under one flag and our anthem is the #StarSpangledBanner! #USA 🇺🇸

— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) July 3, 2020

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

#MLK did not die for us to go back to segregation. As a biracial person I stand tall against segregation of any kind. This so called “black anthem” is the most divisive thing I’ve ever seen. We are all #Americans under one flag and our anthem is the #StarSpangledBanner! #USA 🇺🇸

— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) July 3, 2020

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.”

We should never pick a Supreme Court Justice based on race and sex.

Our VP was chosen that way and Kamala Harris is an inept failure.

Whatever happened to picking the best person for the job?

— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) January 26, 2022

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.