After Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy called New York Republican Representative George Santos a "bunny boiler" who is as "nutty as a fruitcake," Santos' attempt to shame him for it backfired.
When Kennedy referred to Santos as a "bunny boiler" in remarks to reporters, he said he was directly referencing the psychotic character actor Glenn Close played in Fatal Attraction.
The scene wherein Close's character boils alive a pet rabbit belonging to the daughter of her ex-lover is ingrained in pop culture. Kennedy said while he doesn't know if the reporters had actually seen the film, "there are people like that out there."
You can hear what Kennedy said in the video below.
\u201cSen. John Kennedy (R-LA) took aim at his fellow Republican Rep. George Santos, calling the freshman congressman 'nutty as a fruitcake' and a 'bunny boiler'\u201d— NowThis (@NowThis) 1674585780
Santos—who has been embroiled in scandal since admitting to "embellishing" his résumé with lies he told about his life and experience that effectively deceived voters—responded shortly afterward.
Writing on Twitter, Santos suggested Kennedy's comments were out of line:
"I am saddened that a distinguished senator from the GOP, whom I’ve respected would use such derogatory language against me. Language like that is hurtful and divisive, and has no place in Congress.”
You can see his tweet below.
\u201cI am saddened that a distinguished senator from the GOP, whom I've respected would use such derogatory language against me. Language like that is hurtful and divisive, and has no place in Congress.\u201d— Rep. George Santos (@Rep. George Santos) 1674588403
Given Santos' history of lies and deceit—he is currently facing several investigations into potential campaign finance violations and other financial malfeasance as well as charges he skipped out on in Brazil—it's not surprising Twitter users had no sympathy for him.
In fact, the jokes pretty much wrote themselves.
\u201cI've known fruitcakes. I've made fruitcakes. I've given fruitcakes to friends of mine. Sir, you're no fruitcake.\n\nJust nuts.\u201d— Soyeahbasically (@Soyeahbasically) 1674611231
\u201cEDIT (content and grammar): I am saddened that a distinguished GOP senator, whom I've respected, would use such derogatory language about me. Language like that is hurtful and divisive; but, to be fair, I have no business being in Congress.\u201d— Julian\u00ae \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Julian\u00ae \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1674610847
\u201cSantos left fuming after Senator Kennedy called him nutty, fruitcake, and a bunny boiler in reference to Glenn Close in fatal attraction\u2026. I can\u2019t stand Kennedy but that was pretty \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Alejandro\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf3b\ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc40\ud83c\udf0e\u2744\ufe0f\ud83e\udd43\ud83e\udd42\ud83e\uddc9\ud83c\udf08 (@Alejandro\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf3b\ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udc40\ud83c\udf0e\u2744\ufe0f\ud83e\udd43\ud83e\udd42\ud83e\uddc9\ud83c\udf08) 1674600933
\u201cTalking about no place in congress? The bunny boiler is hopping mad!\u201d— TheFinMan (@TheFinMan) 1674602181
\u201cI\u2019ll bet that @RepSantosNY03 has said \u201cI won\u2019t be ignored\u201d more than once. Maybe when he was young at a festival. Senator Foghorn Leghorn - I mean, Kennedy - does have a point. Also, #SantosMustResign\u201d— Dan Kim (\uae40\uba85\uc900) (@Dan Kim (\uae40\uba85\uc900)) 1674607376
\u201cLOL. John Kennedy calls fellow Republican George Santos a\n\u201cnutty fruitcake bunny boiler\u2019\u201d— \u15f0\u15e9\u1587K_\u15f7_O\u144cTT\u15e9_\u157c\u15f4\u1587\u15f4\ud83d\ude80 (@\u15f0\u15e9\u1587K_\u15f7_O\u144cTT\u15e9_\u157c\u15f4\u1587\u15f4\ud83d\ude80) 1674660612
\u201cI saw Little Bunny Foo Foo trending, and I thought George Santos had yet another alias.\u201d— Hysterical Raisins (@Hysterical Raisins) 1674629137
\u201c@tedlieu @DemocratsCare "I've done all kinds of awful things, but how dare someone to call me out for it." (George Bunny Boiler Santos)\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1674610363
\u201cBwahahaha.. Crazy ass Sen. John Kennedy calling George Santos a \u201cbunny boiler\u201d is some peak MAGA on MAGA slander\u2026.. Annnnd I just can\u2019t get enough\ud83e\udd23\ud83c\udf7f\u201d— Hadley Sheley (@Hadley Sheley) 1674589678
Santos lashed out at his critics who have piled on him for his obvious and well-documented lies.
Shortly before he fired off his tweet at Kennedy, Santos sparred with drag queen Trixie Mattel after he complained about "terrible" impressions from actors who've impersonated him on television.
After Mattell suggested that comedians' "source material was weak," Santos attempted to hit back only to be reminded by Mattel of his absurd response to a report in which former acquaintances said he was a drag queen performing under the name "Kitara Ravache" while living in Brazil.
@CalltoActivism/X
@cchaplin59/X
@mmpadellan/X
@IBleedOrange1/X
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social