Rep. George Santos has been accused of fabricating much of his life story, and the hits keep on coming.
On Tuesday, The Daily Beast reported his latest dubious claim revolved around a COVID-19 diagnosis at the start of the pandemic.
The first case of COVID-19 in New York was confirmed on March 1, 2020, and Santos said in a conservative podcast that he became symptomatic with the virus just over a week later.
“Unfortunately, on the 9th of March, I became symptomatic with what we all know now very well, COVID-19, aka coronavirus, commonly known as the Chinese flu,” he said. “On the 11th, I ended up in the hospital. It was really bad, fever, body aches.”
Santos said he was taken to a hospital in Queens, New York, by ambulance and spent about five hours there in isolation. He said he then had a high fever and hallucinations for several days, ultimately testing positive on March 14.
The Republican said he tested negative on March 26.
“So, I’m free, coronavirus-free, so they’re calling me a survivor,” he said. “I don’t know if I really survived anything. It’s just flu.”
Later retellings of his experience, in terms of both severity and timeline, are at odds with what he said on the podcast, The Daily Beast reported.
On the day that Santos said he received his positive test and was bedridden with a fever, his campaign put out a press release on the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, including a quote from Santos. It didn’t mention his illness.
Four days later, Santos appeared on Fox Business showing no signs of the disease.
Meanwhile, in a September 2020 interview with the local Long Island outlet The Island Now, Santos said the hospital provided him only with a recommendation of taking Advil or Aleve.
And on March 5, 2021, Santos said on Twitter that it was his anniversary of going to the hospital for COVID-19 — six days earlier than the initial date he gave.
The Washington Post journalist Dan Diamond was the first to report, on his personal Substack, that there were discrepancies in dates and details in Santos’ retellings of his coronavirus diagnosis.
Santos’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In recent weeks, Santos has been accused of lying about his employment, educational history, and heritage.
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