How George Santos is winning

And why we should look away (but can't).

(George Santos)

It’s good to be George Santos right now.

Sure, he’s no longer a member of Congress after his bipartisan expulsion last Friday.

But, Santos was never really focused on serving in the House anyway — a fact he made abundantly clear as he left the chamber following his removal.

“Why would I want to stay here,” Santos said. “To hell with this place.”

What Santos was about wasn’t (and isn’t) public service. It’s attention. And he is getting that — in spades — now.

On Monday, the political Internet (and social media in particular) was abuzz with the news that Santos was now selling personalized messages via Cameo. (“Former congressional 'Icon'!,” read his biography on the site. “The Expelled member of Congress from New York City.”

While Santos’ Cameo account appears temporarily unavailable today, he did manage to record (at least) 6 messages to people — including one to scandal-plagued Sen. Bob Menendez that was paid for by fellow Democratic Sen. John Fetterman. (Yes, really.)

“I thought my ethically-challenged colleague @BobMenendezNJ could use some encouragement given his substantial legal problems,” tweeted Fetterman. “So, I approached a seasoned expert on the matter to give ‘Bobby from Jersey’ some advice.”

Which, I will admit, I thought was funny.

Then I read about the news that HBO had optioned the rights to the new Santos biography by Mark Chiusano. And watched Bowen Yang’s spot-on impression of Santos in the cold open of “Saturday Night Live” this past weekend.

Which led me to another thought: Ick.

Or, as New York Times politics reporter Michael Gold much more eloquently put it:

Let me say two things before I go any further:

1. I am NOT anti fun.

2. I get that everyone — including George Santos — needs to make a living.

On an unrelated note — HA! — have I mentioned you should become a paid subscriber to my newsletter? You can do it right here:

Ok, now back to my broader point.

George Santos’ claim to fame is that he made up, well, everything about his life — from his time on the Baruch College volleyball team to his work at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

But, it’s actual more sinister than that when you think a little bit more about it. Santos faces a number of charges — 23 felonies! — for, among other things, defrauding people who donated to his campaign.

Santos’ story arc then is not just funny (although it is funny). It’s depressing — mostly because of what it says about what we, culturally, value. And how fame — even infamy — has become its own reward.

This was obviously true before anyone had heard the name “George Santos” or even “Anthony Devolder.” I give you “Hot Convict.” Or a million other examples of people who have risen to notoriety (and success) based on doing things that we teach our kids are plain wrong.

Still Santos feels like the Platonic ideal of this stuff.

Remember that amid the revelations of his pile of lies earlier this year, Santos accepted a random invitation to go to a karaoke bar with people he didn’t even know. As Politico wrote:

George Santos sitting with a mix of Hill staff, reporters, lobbyists and at least one former member, ex-Rep. Kevin Yoder, per two tipsters. A birdie tells us the group of D.C. acquaintances randomly decided to invite the Beltway’s biggest walking scandal — and that they were shocked when he agreed to show up. The group tried to get Santos to sing, and he briefly considered taking the stage to ‘I Will Survive.’ But, alas, we’re told he got cold feet.

As I said at the time, Santos would NEVER resign his office because, well, he was having too much fun. I wrote:

Santos’ only calculation is that he’s always wanted to be famous — and now he is! “Saturday Night Live” is doing an impersonation of him! And he is not-so-secretly thrilled!

Sure, he’s more infamous than famous. But, to Santos, there’s no difference. People know him! Everyone is talking about him! He matters!

And, he never did. (Yes, he said he would retire but that is a different animal.) Santos milked his time in the Congressional spotlight for as long as possible — all the way until the bitter end when he was exchanging barbs with Ohio Rep. Max Miller over their sordid pasts on the House floor.

Now that he is gone, he is still finding way to be relevant. To draw attention. And, because the incentive structure in our culture is all out of whack, you can bet Santos is going to keep getting opportunities to remain in the public eye.

Is it a stretch to imagine Santos on next season’s “Dancing with the Stars”? Not for Santos! “Today, I would not do Dancing With the Stars,” he said a day before being expelled from Congress. “Maybe in the future.”

Which means that OF COURSE he would do it. (Entertainment Weekly reported that the producers of “DWTS” have not approached Santos. To which I say: Yet.)

The way to truly punish someone like Santos is to ignore him. Let him return to Long Island and live in anonymity. Don’t pay for him to record Cameos. Don’t make a documentary about his life. And definitely don’t invite him on “Dancing with the Stars.”

But that’s not where we are societally. Because, if we are being honest, we would all probably watch Santos on “Dancing with the Stars.” Or an HBO doc on his life.

Which means, as much as I hate to admit it, George Santos is winning. And it’s (all of) our fault.