Disgraced Congressperson-elect George Santos appears to be the headline gift that keeps on giving — and this time, he’s moved on from callous misrepresentations of well, basically everything in his life, to travel expenses that might raise a Kardashian eyebrow, if the silicon would allow.
It’s not uncommon for elected officials to spend big on travel. Nope. Hopping around DC there are plenty of jets fueled up and even more first class snapped up every time members of congress in the US head home to their “constituents” across the country.
What’s uncommon is a yet to be sworn in local official spending big on travel all over the country, including $14,000 restaurant tabs and $70,000 in air and hotels. As new light comes out around campaign spending for the yet to be sworn in congressperson elect, it appears Santos proverbially told other US lawmakers to hold his beer.
And surely, if he’s as rich and successful as he’s claimed, he could’ve just used his own personal funds for trips outside of the needs of his constituency, right?
George Santos Spent $70,000 On Travel
Let’s start with a bit of context on typical travel spend by other local congresspeople in 2022 for an apples to apples look.
Newly elected Republican Congressman Nick LaLota, also from Long Island, spent a total of $800 on hotels and $3,000 on airfare during the course of his campaign. It’s not unreasonable for campaign consultants to be brought in from elsewhere and of course they’d need some form of accommodation.
This makes the linear comparison to the $70,000 from disgraced George Santos — who may have apparently falsely claimed his mother died on 9/11, which is enough to make any New Yorker want to scream — all the more amusing.
Santos spent a whopping $40,000 on airfare and $30,000 on hotels and Airbnb’s to run a local campaign where the only audience that “matters” was based in New York.
According to research and reporting by the New York Times, Santos has preferences with his hotel stays too. Santos favored Hilton and Hyatt and GSTP fathoms that he likely earned top tier status, given the spend.
The $30,000 Mr. Santos’s campaign spent on hotels and Airbnb expenditures included stays in Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Florida, California, Kansas, Michigan, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and in New York itself.
New York Times
Santos hasn’t (yet) been sworn in, so he doesn’t even really need to commute much to D.C. at the moment. Sure, a trip for office space, go for it — but all these others? There are also reports that Santos used campaign funds to rent a house for himself.
VIP Perks?
With $40,000 in airline spend, Santos would’ve cleared the hurdles to reach the heights of Diamond Medallion with Delta, which should help with future upgrades. The New York Post reports $38,000 of the $40,000 in airline spend went to Delta.
I’d love to know if Santos achieved Delta’s secretive 360° VIP status, but given the airfare boon last year, I somewhat doubt $38,000 would’ve been enough.
Hopefully, he ultimately won’t reap these new travel benefits at all, as he settles in to equally expensive, but slightly less “free” accommodations for duping the good people of Strong Island.
GSTP doesn’t typically wade into pop-culture travel BS, but as a New Yorker who spent much of his life on Long Island, I’m triggered! Apolitically, we simply can’t have a truly functioning country or democracy when blatantly lying about every key detail in ones experience, from education to professional life and other affiliations is accepted.
I hope he gets in, continues to lie boldly, completely ignores his ‘job’, is corrupt as hell and is wide open about it unlike the rest of them with their ‘campaign contributions, nepotism, outright bribery disguised as ‘lectures’ and other sinecures. Just steal the money, George, and blog about how you do it. You’ll get my vote as an honest politician.
There needs to be some level of honesty in our political system, don’t you think? Sure all politicians are liars, but this is pushing to the level of absurdity.
Yikes. Just wait until Gilbert hears about our current POTUS Biden family corruption making them all filthy rich. $70,000 for travel? ROFL. Small time bush league stuff compared to what Biden’s upstanding son made in a week from (name a foreign country here) as he traveled around the world collecting for the “Big Guy”. Incensed Gilbert is going to be all over that. (I of course kid. Corruption is ok in shameless spades if you’re a proud lib/lefty. No righteous indignation required. Or even comment. Lol)
I’m not a lefty nor a righty. I’m a things that are wrong are wrong-y. The “everyone’s doing it” excuse and deflection hasn’t worked well in history.
It’s inappropriate to focus on this clown without adequately recognizing the others who do the same.
Ok, so be productive. Who else? Facts, not opinion plz.
Elizabeth Warren thinks she is a Cherokee
Which clown? Gilbert? for wrecking his Blog?
“I’m not a lefty nor a righty. I’m a things that are wrong are wrong-y.”
Gilbert, we readers of your blog will remember these statement of yours. Make sure you post stories like these when the POTUS and Hunter’s corruptions gets exposed after the new congress committee investigation, pretty sure miles and points are involve as well when Hunter was flying between states and housing his prostitutes at Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton. I don’t wanna hear you saying “oh those are OPINIONS only”
“Ok, so be productive. Who else? Facts, not opinion plz.”
Productive? Okay, I never saw this story on your blog.
Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) congressional campaign reportedly continued his spending habits by racking up nearly $60,000 on travel expenses on trips to Miami Beach, Florida, and Paris, France.
The Swalwell campaign — which only has two official staffers — used the thousand in cash to pay for swanky hotel and airfare. The campaign spent $4,708 at Loews Miami Beach, where rooms range between $400 and $3,700 per night. There was also $1,752 spent at the five-star La Maison Champs-Elysées Hotel in Paris, France, where rooms range from roughly $1,000 and $1,200 per night.
The Swalwell campaign spent $13,312 to pay for flights on United Airlines, as well as $7,815 on American Airlines and $1,300 on Alaska Airlines.
Furthermore, the congressman dished out nearly $6,000 to embrace his luxury limo obsession, as well as $1,452 on Lyft rides and $1,055 on Uber rides, according to his campaign’s disclosures
Just stick to directly related travel news, please.
My blog, my company, free internet, I’ll write about what amuses me. But, your feedback is noted.
Gotta love all these snowflakes whining in the comments – toughen up, buttercups!
Gilbert WTF ….is this a Political blog? If I want to read this Shite i will go to Travelbloggerbuzz for crappy hate filled politics. Aren’t you British? WTF?
Just to be clear, I’m being ridiculed for not supporting someone who openly has admitted that all of their qualifications for being elected by the public were based fabrications and falsehoods. No university education as stated, no work experience as stated, no financial success as stated. Kind of material to someone representing a vital district.
DEFUND GOD SAVE THE POINTS
SHAME
Prince Harry is a TOSSER and apparently Gilbert is one too, stick to travel and worry about your own country you WANKER.
Haha I am an American citizen born in New York with a US passport and an address on Long Island…
And just to be clear, I’m being ridiculed for not supporting someone who openly has admitted that all of their qualifications for being elected were fabrications and falsehoods. If you ran a business, I think you’d be fairly bummed to find out your CPA never went to school and holds no accreditation.
I am not buying that you do not lean left or right, I do not think anyone else is.
You cannot have it both ways.
I hate this kind of blogging, you lost my respect and readership.
If I want Politics, which I do not, i do not go to a travel blog.
This is an epic failure of good judgement on your part, IMHO.
Do not be surprised if you killed the Golden Goose.
Habib S.
PS your my blog response is such a turn off, listen to your readers for God’s Sake, man.
For the umpteenth time, the loudest voices do not always represent the majority of voices. You are just loud.
A few side show clowns who support a self admitted fraud, who lied about all the qualifications for which he was voted into congress do not represent the million people who come here in a month. You’re just a group of 15/16 lunatics which I consider the cost of doing business on the internet.
I’d condemn any democrat, republican or green party candidate who was elected on the premise of experience at Goldman Sachs and Baruch University, who attended neither. among many other falsehoods. If you must know, I lean libertarian, with a humanitarian conscience.