George Santos Shocked at Ron DeSantis’s Homophobia, Says He Was Misled

In what can only be called a significant lack of self-awareness, New York U.S. Rep. George Santos, the serial fabulist under federal indictment on fraud charges, is crying foul. According to him, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for the GOP nomination for president, presented himself one way only to reveal he was totally different later on — in this case, a homophobe.

The gay New York Republican previously endorsed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education, or the “don’t say gay” bill, signed into law by DeSantis last year. Republicans, including Santos, supported the bill against charges that it was homophobic, which LGBTQ+ rights advocates have condemned as anti-LGBTQ+.

The DeSantis administration has also ushered in a number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies, including bans on gender-affirming care as well as restrictions against drag shows.

But after the DeSantis campaign posted a bizarre video last week, Santos openly criticized the governor for supposedly misleading LGBTQ+ Republicans.

In May, a grand jury indicted Santos with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of making materially false statements to the U.S. House, and one count of theft of public funds. He's denied any criminal wrongdoing.

The video was seemingly produced by a DeSantis supporter and posted by the DeSantis War Room Twitter account.

In the video, former president Donald Trump was criticized for supporting Pride Month.

Condemnation came in strong from all directions. People on both sides of the political spectrum called out the video for its homophobic rhetoric.

The Log Cabin Republicans and some gay conservative activists took to social media to decry the ad’s messaging. Many feigned shock and outrage that a Republican candidate was broadcasting their disdain for the gay community. The video includes an excerpt of Trump giving a speech after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.

In light of Friday’s video, Santos now believes DeSantis “used” and misled him.

“I used to think he was a great governor,” Santos remarked, The Hill reports. “Now, I’m starting to think differently.”

Santos added, “I still stand by the bill in its nature, but now it seems that it had a more perverse agenda behind it. I’m starting to see [DeSantis] for what he is. His rhetoric is to diminish and remove rights away from people like myself, and I can’t support that.”