George Santos’ Comeback Plan Inspires The Bluntest Of Responses

Former Rep. George Santos’ (R-N.Y.) announcement that he was “returning to the arena of politics” with another run for Congress was greeted with deep cynicism and skepticism on X, formerly Twitter.

Santos was expelled from Congress in December and faces a 23-count federal indictment over allegations of credit card fraud and more.

But just three months after being shown the door, the serial liar showed up at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and, on X, revealed he’ll challenge Rep. Nicholas J. LaLota (R-N.Y.) in New York’s first congressional district.

Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and author of “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,” said the “poseur extraordinaire” was “now ready for his next performance.”

Just like former president and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, she wrote, Santos is “nothing without an audience” and “the return to politics brings him that.”

“Bring It On,” responded John Avlon, the CNN anchor-turned-Democratic candidate in the same district.

Support HuffPost

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

Your Loyalty Means The World To Us

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Woul