George Santos calls gay congressman “girly” in rant blaming him for death threats

Out Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has been one of the most vocal critics of disgraced out Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who is currently facing 23 federal charges – and now Santos is hitting back at Torres over his comments about the war in Israel.

While both Santos and Torres have similar beliefs in support of Israel, Santos accused Torres of hypocrisy for saying his critics have put his safety at risk.

Related:

George Santos lied about his five-year-old niece being kidnapped by two Chinese men

He claimed the Chinese Communist Party may have been trying to silence him.

“Girly we agree on this issue and I think you are absolutely correct on what you are saying about rhetoric,” Santos wrote on X, “but the hypocrisy is far too much… you were part of the reason my staff and my family received numerous death threats this year, some so credible that a lunatic is on trial in FL right now.”

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He was likely referring to Frank Stanzione, a Florida man who left a voicemail at Santos’s office threatening to bash his head in with a baseball bat.

He ended the post by telling Torres, “I truly hope you are well and nothing happens to you.”

Girly we agree on this issue and I think you are absolutely correct on what you are saying about rhetoric.

but the hypocrisy is far too much… you were part of the reason my staff and my family received numerous death threats this year, some so credible that a lunatic is on… https://t.co/ivPDxWh1ZE

— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) October 20, 2023

Santos’s ire came in response to a post from Torres, who said people accusing him of supporting genocide for his stance on Israel “are inciting violence against me and putting the safety of my staff and me at risk.” Torres also posted a flyer for a “Bronx Solidarity with Palestine” protest that included a photo of Torres and declared him “wanted for genocide.”

“I had a tough upbringing in the projects in the Bronx. I don’t scare easily,” Torres wrote. “I won’t shy away from fighting for my Jewish constituents who feel threatened by the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The extremists can’t and won’t intimidate me with their crazed lies and blood libels. I am fearless.”

By falsely accusing me of ‘genocide,’ these anti-Israel extremists are inciting violence against me and putting the safety of my staff and me at risk.

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) October 20, 2023

Santos blaming Torres for threats against him stems from the fact that Torres has made several moves in Congress to punish Santos for lying about his qualifications and allegedly committing fraud, among other crimes.

In January, Torres hand-delivered a six-page ethics complaint he and fellow Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) filed against Santos to Santos’s office. He posted a video of the moment and wrote, “George Santos MUST and will be held accountable.”

One day later, Torres introduced the SANTOS Act, a bill he said “punishes candidates who lie to voters about their qualifications.” SANTOS stood for Stop Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker.

In July, Torres and other House Democrats introduced a privileged resolution to censure Santos for lying about his personal and professional life to get elected to Congress.

Santos’s post on Torres’s Israel comments suggests he believes threats like that of Frank Stanzione were the result of Torres’s attempts to create some consequences for Santo’s actions. Based on the responses, not many people agree. One user wrote, “No ‘George’, YOU are the reason your staff and ‘family’ received whatever I’ll [sic] they received. YOU brought it all on.”

Another said, “Do you think the fact that you lied about every facet of your life might have had some affect on people’s behavior towards you??”

Many more comments like this littered his feed, with several users also criticizing the fact that he called Torres “girly” in the post.

“Let’s make this very clear,” Santos said in response to the criticism, “both Ritchie and I are both Gay and Out. No straight man was harmed during this exchange. LOL.”

Lets make this very clear, both Ritchie and I are both Gay and Out. No straight man was harmed during this exchange. LOL https://t.co/hDnYlR3Xe2

— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) October 20, 2023