George Santos' personal insult against his potential Democratic opponent backfires spectacularly
- Rep. George Santos insulted his potential Dem rival's chin during a heated Twitter exchange.
- The tweet backfired on Santos, who faced quick backlash and raised the profile of his opponent.
Rep. George Santos launched a personal attack against his potential Democratic rival, insulting Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan's chin during a heated Twitter exchange. It backfired spectacularly.
Twitter users unleashed on the embattled GOP House member from New York and sided with Lafazan, who quickly fired back: "Corrective jaw surgery helped me breathe normally & saved my life. My insurance covered it, & it's why I'm fighting so hard for universal health care"
Lafazan, who earned name recognition and a fundraising opportunity from the exchange, continued, "You are beneath the office you hold. And I can't wait to replace you in Congress, in 2024 or sooner. Send postcards from jail".
The nasty exchange started about a New York Post story reporting Santos is expected to announce his reelection campaign on Monday, despite facing calls from within his party to resign over multiple scandals involving lies about his background, including that he is Jewish.
Lafazan, who lost his Democratic primary bid for the House seat in 2022, at one point wrote that he wouldn't need to lie to get elected, unlike Santos. "My credentials are clean, I'm actually Jewish, & unlike yours, my diploma from Harvard is real," he wrote.
That's when Santos responded with a photo of Lafazan and wrote, "Real like your chin?"
The pushback from Twitter was so fierce that some users noted that Santos temporarily turned off replies.
"Real like your resume?" responded one Twitter user. "I'll be donating to Josh," wrote another.
Another noted that many hadn't heard of Lafazan until Santos' tweet. "Now he's got the support of thousands all over the country. You just blew any chance you had left of re-election. You should have deleted this tweet!"