New York Republican Representative George Santos compared himself to civil rights icon Rosa Parks because Utah GOP Senator Mitt Romney told him to sit in the back of the room during February's State of the Union address.
In Santos' view, being chided by a Senator for being a pathological liar and potentially a federal criminal is exactly like protesting segregation in the Jim Crow South.
Santos made the comments on far-right Republican commentator Mike Crispi's podcast while complaining about all the criticism he's received for being a liar who fabricated his entire life story and resume during his campaign and is now facing federal criminal charges.
You can watch the moment here:
Santos told Crispi:
"They come for me, I go right back for them because I think for far too long they’ve gotten away with going along to get along."
"So no, it’s not going to stay that way anymore. I’m gonna call them out. You want to call me a liar. I’ll call you a sellout."
But apparently none of the criticism he's received hurts quite as much as Romney telling him "you don't belong here" at the SOTU.
As he put it to Crispi:
"I mean Mitt Romney, the man goes to the State of the Union of the United States wearing a Ukraine lapel pin, tells me, a Latino gay man, that I shouldn’t sit in the front and that I should be in the back."
"Well, guess what? Rosa Parks wouldn’t sit in the back and neither am I going to sit in the back. That’s just the reality of how it works."
As you might guess, people lambasted Santos for his comments.
Santos currently faces federal criminal charges for Fraud, Money Laundering, Theft of Public Funds and False Statements.
He has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond awaiting trial.
