George Santos has been a U.S. representative for over a month now, and he doesn’t seem to being the most unpopular person in Congress. Before he was sworn in, he was the subject of an avalanche of accusations. After he was sworn in, the avalanche continued. It hasn’t stopped, with one strange/alarming claim after another, of him lying about, well, everything. If he thought his colleagues would warm to him for President Joe Biden’s second State of the Union speech, he was wrong.
First up was his run-in with Mitt Romney. Santos, who managed to snag an aisle seat for the big show, at one point walked over to the Utah senator and failed presidential candidate. Cameras caught the exchange, and though no audio has yet to be made public, it didn’t look good.
George Santos is talking with Mitt Romney pic.twitter.com/JSgAkXIby2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
Of course, you didn’t have to be a master lip reader to catch some words. People caught Romney telling Santos something about him being “embarrassed.” Others thought Romney told him, “I wouldn’t be here.” A lot of people speculated on what was said.
“Hi, I’m Mitt Romney”
“So am I!” https://t.co/4tQenJnAOf— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 8, 2023
It looks like Mitt Romney tells Santos (twice): “You ought to be embarrassed.” https://t.co/0PucADU7DK
— Republicans against Trumpism (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 8, 2023
Garrett Haake on MSNBC just reported that Mitt Romney exchanged “stern words” with George Santos https://t.co/L6aXnZxLbI
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) February 8, 2023
Hopefully telling him to resign https://t.co/rsh6KYoeq9
— Wu-Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) February 8, 2023
Gonna need the bad lip reading treatment on this exchange please https://t.co/4YAufwyDxv
— chuckwestover (@chuckwestover) February 8, 2023
Pretty sure Senator Romney said “you should be embarrassed” once or twice. Good for him! https://t.co/Up4KKPZBRU
— Carlos Mark Vera (@CarlosAngeles25) February 8, 2023
Not a professional lip reader but pretty sure I see “embarrassed” or “embarrassing” from Mitt there, maybe twice https://t.co/Fw0RZNsr6z
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) February 8, 2023
Whatever the case, Santos walked away with Romney still appearing to mutter about him, with Santos saying something back.
Then there was his run-in with Biden himself. Santos perched himself along Biden’s path, ready to get a handshake from the president.
George Santos is embarrassingly standing on the aisle during the State of the Union, waiting to shake President Biden’s hand.
Santos has no shame.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) February 8, 2023
But video appeared to show Biden giving him a quick glance then moving on, potentially snubbing him.
Biden turning his back on George Santos #sotu pic.twitter.com/Z7HeC9cjOT
— Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) February 8, 2023
The Santos-Biden moment we all were hoping for pic.twitter.com/UdGdQl9vcU
— Commander and Rutgers fan Will (@sadsportfanwill) February 8, 2023
Here’s a freeze frame of the apparent eye-lock.
Embattled Republican Congressman George Santos greets President Joe Biden ahead of tonight’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber pic.twitter.com/VB8fp3Y80G
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) February 8, 2023
Maybe Biden, a dog lover, doesn’t have time for people accused of multiple cases of dog-related fraud.
Biden looked George Santos in the eye, and didn’t shake his hand MSNBC reports.
A dog person knows. #SOTU pic.twitter.com/IUV8sGqDBg
— Karen DaltonBeninato (@kbeninato) February 8, 2023
Or maybe Biden’s just no fan of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, which Santos allegedly claimed he produced.