Don’t get me wrong. I think George Santos is an embarrassment to himself, the country, and his constituency. And he really needs to resign, disappear, and try to help the electorate forget he ever entered the public realm. But while I applaud the media’s revelations about all his preposterous lies, I think that the latest salacious story about Santos is one step over the line.
Today, we came to discover that allegedly, Santos was known as a drag queen named Kitara in his native Brazil a decade ago. I’d venture to say that if the media ran a story on every “straight” man who’s dabbled in the gay world, they’d have to hire an army of new reporters to cover the territory. Why is this news?
Yes, Santos is (allegedly) a liar, a con man, a scofflaw, and even a thief (if you believe what his ex-roommates have to say about him). But to publicize his alter ego is a bit too far in my opinion. Too many people live in glass houses and yet, have no problem throwing stones.
Hopefully, somebody will find a legal way to remove Santos from the House — or somehow convince him he needs to go. But outing him as a drag queen isn’t the way. It’s salacious, tasteless, and even prejudiced to go that route. The media has plenty of ammo and fodder on Santos to sell papers and get clicks. Certainly, Santos has provided them no shortage in that realm. This story isn't about lies. It's about a man's private life and thus, off limits. Featuring a photo and story about George doesn’t add to his lies. It corroborates his sexual orientation and clearly shouldn’t be part of the story.
I realize the media has a privilege and even obligation to out lying politicians. But this piece of the Santos past just doesn’t pass the smell test. We have the Enquirer for those kinds of stories — and not venerable media the likes of which too many are running with this scoop.
Grow up and stick to what’s relevant. And Santos marching in drag simply isn’t.
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