In yet another case of the MAGA snake eating its own tail, disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York lunged this week at Southlake Mayor John Huffman. And boy, the fangs are out.
Santos was expelled from Congress late last year following a litany of alleged fraud and financial oopsie-daisies. He was also caught lying — and lying and lying and lying — about pretty much everything related to his life story.
Huffman, meanwhile, has cast himself as the lead in Southlake’s anti-woke action flick, defending his turf against the “leftist national media” and dining at gas stations while he’s at it. The Republican mayor is now gunning for Texas’ 26th Congressional District.
That is, if Santos’ bite doesn’t totally puncture his chances.
In a video shared to X on Monday, Santos snipes at Huffman and casts doubt on his conservative bona fides. The former congressman noted in the post that he loves appearing on Cameo, an app selling personalized celebrity clips, and what his “awesome clients request.”
“Hey, Mayor John Huffman. It is I, George Santos — you know, the guy from New York expelled, but with a 96.7 conservative rating,” the Republican began, his voice oozing with snark. “So, I know a real conservative from a mile away, and I find it hard to believe that Texas 26 would want to vote for somebody who supports [Black Lives Matter] and attended a BLM rally in 2020.”
Pause for a bit of context, please. Some critics have alleged that Huffman can be seen in a June 2020 photo taken during a local march for racial equality.God I love @BookCameo and what my awesome clients request! 👑 https://t.co/AKv2RoTH1X
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) January 30, 2024
OK, recommence.
“And now you claim to be a hardcore conservative, or ‘faux conservative?’” Santos said. “But here's the deal: You don't live in Texas 26 and you support BLM. Can you add that up for me? There’s a — inquiring minds want to know, Mayor John Huffman.”
Santos then asks Huffman who he’s backing for president, signing off with a snide: “All right, Johnny?”
In an emailed statement provided to the Observer, Huffman defends his approach to BLM and the conservative credentials Santos seemed to question in the video.
"During the summer of 2020, unlike cowards in liberal cities, we directly engaged Black Lives Matter (BLM) agitators to tell them Southlake proudly stood with our police," the statement read. "We recognized BLM was a violent, Marxist scam to justify destruction and chaos in our cities. When BLM came to Southlake, they were told in no uncertain terms: we stood with our police, they could chose to work with us, or against us, but we wouldn't back down from supporting law enforcement."
The statement continued on, including quotes from other Republicans, such as U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Irving, bolstering Huffman’s right-wing credentials. The mayor also made clear he supports the re-election of former President Donald Trump and that he thinks the current president, Joe Biden, is "senile."
The day after Santos’ recording was posted to X by an account called “BLM John,” Huffman shared his congressional campaign’s first TV ad. The mayor stands before a bizarre menagerie of green inflatable tube men as they dance with the same abandon that they would outside a used car dealership.
Today our campaign released our first TV ad.#Woke liberals want to change America.
— Mayor John Huffman (@JohnRHuffman) January 30, 2024
I am the only candidate in this race for Congress who stood up to the liberals and won! #TX26 pic.twitter.com/yjiBOKWQ2k
Huffman bragged of fighting back when the “woke mob infiltrated” public ed with its “DEI agenda.” He boasted of flipping the local school board and giving the boot to “woke bureaucrats.”
“There’s a lot of spineless people running for Congress,” he continued. “I’m John Huffman. I’m the only one who stood up to the liberals, and won.”
Whether the vertebrate mayor stands up to Santos remains TBD.
