Rep. George Santos in the House chamber.Andrew Harnik/ AP Photo
George Santos’ latest dubious claim appears to involve a COVID-19 diagnosis from 2020.
The timeline of testing positive and getting sick differs in various retellings of the story.
His descriptions of the severity of his illness have also changed over time, per The Daily Beast.
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 that his latest dubious claim revolves 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 claimed 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 a.k.a 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 around 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.”
However, later retellings of his experience, both in terms of severity and timeline, appear to be 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 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 local outlet The Island Now, Santos said the hospital only provided him with a recommendation of taking Advil or Aleve.
Story continues
And on March 5, 2021, Santos posted on Twitter that it was his anniversary of being admitted to 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’ retelling of his coronavirus diagnosis.
Insider contacted Santos’ office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
In recent weeks, Santos has been accused of lying about his employment, educational history, and heritage.
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