George Santos has smile wiped from his face by awkward questions: “That’s below the belt”

Disgraced, former Rep. George Santos recently sat down for an interview with comic online personality, Ziwe. The resulting video was posted yesterday to YouTube.

Santos had readily agreed to sit down with the online star via an exchange on X. Perhaps he thought his sassiness could match Ziwe’s sharp wit.

For the most part, the 17-minute exchange found the two trading barbs and the tone was light-hearted. However, the smile on Santos’ face faltered in several places. Chiefly when Ziwe asked him “What excites you most about going to prison?”

Santos faced 23 federal charges relating to wire fraud and identity theft. He denies them all. His trial is set for September 2024.

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“That’s below the belt,” he replies, after a pause in which he clearly can’t think of anything funny to say.

“Do you like the color orange?” Ziwe asks next.

This prompts an icy stare from Santos.

“Really?” he finally replies.

“You tell me, I don’t know enough about you,” says Ziwe. “I’m just asking questions.”

“Those seem pretty pointed,” says Santos, realizing Ziwe is perhaps not the new BFF he imagined she would be.

Marsha P. Johnson

In another part of the interview, Ziwe asked Santos his thoughts on “civil rights icons” and what they mean to him. First up in Marsha P. Johnson.

“Very respectful, honorable person,” replies Santos.

When pushed as to how Johnson was “respectable and honorable”, Santos just shrugs and says “On all the stances and all the work.” Most viewers concluded he did not actually know who Marsha P. Johnson was.

Next up is the queer, Black writer and campaigner James Baldwin.

“Who the hell is James Baldwin?” replies Santos.

What about Harvey Milk?

“I have no idea who that is,” says Santos, now getting bored with this line of questioning.

i asked george santos if he knew who james baldwin was. watch the FULL interview on YouTube now. link in bio pic.twitter.com/1GsimbKAL7

— ziwe (@ziwe) December 18, 2023

Santos made headlines a few months ago in which he compared himself to Rosa Parks. Asked about this, he said, sighing, “I used an analogy. I’m not like Rosa Parks. Come on. I could never measure. Let’s just put it that way.”

Drag past and return to Congress

Other subjects discussed included Santos’ drag queen past. He confirmed he was Kitara Ravache “for a day” when he was 18. He joked that he wears more makeup today.

Santos was expelled from Congress last month: Only the sixth representative expelled in the history of Congress. Ziwe asked him if he could see himself returning to elected office.

“Not now, but in the future I’m not ruling it out.” Later in the interview he added, “I’ll be back. I’m 35. They’re all in their 50s. I’ll outlive them. Each and last one of them.”

Santos praised Bowen Yang for his portrayal of him on SNL. However, when Ziwe asked Santos if he’d like to see the gay comic take on the role in a discussed biopic, Santos shot down the idea.

“That movie is never going to happen,” he said, saying its source material—an unauthorized biography—was inaccurate. “The book has no perspective of me or anybody close to me. It’s a f***ing fiction.”

In another part of the interview, Ziwe calls Santos a “messy b**ch that lives for drama.”

Santos replies, “You can call me a messy b**ch, I’ve been called worse. But I’ll take it. Can you make a pin and mail it to me?’ Santos asked. ‘I will wear your messy b**ch pin any day.”

Watch the whole interview below.

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