CNN’s Anderson Cooper tore into embattled Rep. George Santos after the New York Republican announced he would run for reelection in 2024.
“Sure, he doesn’t have the support of his party on Capitol Hill, or the support of the party leadership back in his district who’ve called for his resignation, or the support of most of his constituents, who in recent polling say they want him to resign,” Cooper said on “Anderson Cooper 360″ Monday, according to a clip captured by Mediaite.
“And yes, he faces multiple federal and local investigations into his finances after he admitted to lying about everything from his college degree to where he worked and even his heritage,” Cooper continued. “But when you have no shame, none of that matters. Today, he announced he’s going to run for reelection.”
Santos’ polling numbers show good news and bad news, CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten said.
“The good news is: I went back through history and found some politicians with comparable favorable ratings ― right around 7 or 8%,” Enten said. “The bad news is: Those politicians were either at the time convicted criminals or later became convicted criminals.”
Enten noted that Santos had similar approval ratings to those received in 2008 by then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who was impeached and incarcerated for eight years on federal charges of public corruption, and in 2005 by then-Ohio Gov. Bob Taft (R), who was convicted of violating state ethics laws.
Santos said in a statement Monday that he was “proudly” announcing his bid for another two-year term. The statement said Santos had “proven to be a diligent legislator and outspoken critic of the Washington Establishment” in his first 100 days in office.
Santos has spent his term battling a firestorm of controversy and bipartisan calls to resign after bombshell reports revealed he had fabricated myriad aspects of his work, education and personal background to get elected.
He faces local, federal and international investigations into his misrepresentations, as well as probes into allegations of campaign finance violations. He stepped down from his House committee assignments weeks after taking office.