After facing criminal charges and expulsion from Congress, George Santos has stared down his toughest challenge yet: An interview with satirical TV host Ziwe Fumudoh. The Q&A aired on Ziwe’s YouTube channel Monday, keeping with her provocative style of leading guests into conversations that range from uncomfortable to straight up compromising. Of course, as a walking gaffe machine, George Santos rose to the task with ease. In addition to admitting he does not know Harvey Milk or James Baldwin—but does know the lyrics to Nicki Minaj’s iconic verse in “Monster”—Santos also disclosed that he would rob neither a Sephora nor an Ulta because “I don’t do petty crime.” But alas, he was right about one thing: “People want the content.” So, here are three things we learned from the interview.
Dancing With the Stars is not on the agenda
Right away, Ziwe started with a hard-hitting question: Would Santos follow in Sean Spicer’s dancing shoes (and chartreuse shirt) to foxtrot and tango on DWTS? “I’ll pass,” says Santos. “I don’t want to be Sean Spicer, let’s just call it that.” However, when asked whether he would make an appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the Cameo star demurred that he has yet to be invited—but would certainly make use of his time on screen. “I’d love to go read a [CENSORED],” said Santos. (The last word is censored on YouTube, but it appears as if he said “bitch.”) The reality show involves drag queens dancing it out in a lip-sync competition at the end of each episode, and Santos also disclosed the song he would perform in a lip-sync battle against his former congressional colleagues: ” ‘I Will Survive.’ It’s cliche, why not?”
The mystery baby belonged to a staffer
Perhaps you recall a clip of Santos cradling a baby in the Longworth House Office Building and responding “not yet” when asked if the baby was his. Finally, someone asked the question this reporter has been curious about for weeks: What does that mean?! We now know there are no Rumpelstiltskin antics at play, and Santos did not intend to raise the youngster as an Anthony Devolder clone. Santos clarifies that he meant he is not a parent yet. While the baby’s identity remains unknown, we now know the infant is a staffer’s child, and Santos was allegedly taking the baby to see another member of Congress.
Santos could make a (rather ominous) return to politics
Santos is adamant that he is “not a politician, never was, never will be,” but rather an “elected public servant for 11 months.” (Granted, he has said he is a lot of things—among them volleyball star, grandson of Holocaust survivors, and Hannah Montana star, so it’s interesting to hear him deny the one thing we all know to be fact.) He holds his former colleagues in very, very low regard—”Swampy, slimy people selling this country down the river,” Santos said of both Republicans and Democrats—but also doles out some praise: When asked House of Gucci or House of Representatives, he said, “slay the boots house down, House of Representatives, every day.” Despite his untimely exit, he would still consider a future appearance in the Capitol’s hallowed halls. “I’ll be back. I’m 35—they’re all in their 50s. I’ll outlive them, each and last one of them.”
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
