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GOP lawmaker George Santos (NY) compared himself to civil rights icon Rosa Parks while defending himself against fellow Republican critics.
According to the Daily Beast, Santos made the comparison last week during an appearance on Mike Crispi's rightwing political podcast “Unafraid."
“They come for me, I go right back for them,” Santos said of his critics, “because they think for far too long they’ve gotten away with getting along to get along. So, no. It’s not going to stay that way anymore. I’m going to call them out: ‘You wanna call me a liar? I’ll call you a sellout.’”
The GOP lawmaker then took aim at Republican Sen. Mitt Romney (UT), who previously suggested that Santos was an "embarrassment" who shouldn't sit at the top of the aisle for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union in February.
“Well, guess what? Rosa Parks didn’t sit in the back, and neither am I going to sit in the back!” Santos said during the podcast. “That’s just the reality of how it works.”
Santos' comparison to Parks comes after he was arrested in May on 13 federal charges, including illegally taking COVID unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds, and money laundering. The GOP lawmaker has also been accused of misrepresenting his Jewish heritage, lying about being Black, and exaggerating about his past political experiences and education.
Social media users called out Santos' latest statements involving a civil rights icon.
“What an absolute disgrace,” lawyer and Democratic strategist Aaron Parnas tweeted.
“You're a liar George,” journalist Soledad O’Brien said. “You're no Rosa Parks. Go shush your embarrassing self.”
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