Tulsi Gabbard praised for grilling George Santos for ‘blatant lies’ in Fox News interview

Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) slammed Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) for fabricating and embellishing details about his background, addressing him directly during a Fox News interview and asking, “Do you have no shame?”

“If I were one of those in New York’s third district right now, now that the election is over, and I’m finding out all of these lies that you’ve told — not just one little lie or one little embellishment, these are blatant lies,” Gabbard said to Santos on Fox News. “My question is, do you have no shame? Do you have no shame in the people who now you’re asking to trust you to go and be their voice for them, their families, and their kids in Washington?”

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“Tulsi, I can say the same thing about the Democrats,” Santos responded. “Look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden has been lying to the American people for 40 years. He’s the president of the United States. Democrats resoundingly support him. Do they have no shame?”

Santos has drawn criticism for his assertions that he attended Manhattan’s Baruch College, his affiliation with Judaism, and his employment in the financial sector. He won the race to replace departing Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represented a part of northeastern Queens and Nassau County. His opponent was longtime Democratic activist Robert Zimmerman, who has also been a guest on Fox News in the past.

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In response to Gabbard’s question, Santos explained that, in light of the revelations, “integrity” means to conduct oneself “in an honourable way.” He reaffirmed his admission of error.

Gabbard has received praised for grilling Santos in this heated interview. Several Twitter users have praised her.

“I think humans are flawed, and we all make mistakes, Tulsi,” he said. “I think we can all look at ourselves in the mirror and admit that once in our life we made a mistake. I’m having to admit this on national television for the whole country to see. And I have the courage to do so because I believe that in order to move past this and move forward and be an effective member of Congress, I have to face my mistakes, and I’m facing them.”

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“A lie is not an embellishment on a resume,” Gabbard told Santos. “These are blatant lies, and it calls into question how your constituents and the American people can believe anything that you may say when you are standing on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

Following the interview by former Democratic Representative Gabbard, who had often aligned herself with the far-right Republicans, had received praise for tearing down into Santos’ downplay of the situation at hand.