For weeks, late night television hosts have been feasting on comedic material from the story of Congressman George Santos (R-NY), after a series of journalistic investigations exposed some bizarre, almost inexplicable lies he told as part of his campaign.
Included in the litany of now-debunked tall tales include lies about where he went to high school and college, previous places of employment, campaign fund disclosure violations, and his personal history and ethnic heritage. He lied about his mother dying during the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and about employees of his dying during the tragic 2016 shooting of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Santos even lied about having Jewish Ukrainian heritage, even though multiple family records trace his maternal grandparents to Brazil. And when asked to explain the contradiction in an interview with the New York Post, he backtracked. Santos said, “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
Possible Preaching Angle:
Effective and trustworthy leadership starts with integrity. Those who distort the truth will ultimately be discovered and discredited.
