Rep. George Santos is not impressed with his 'terrible' late-night impersonators
Imitation is not sincerely flattering to Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), evidently.
The newly elected serial fabulist tweeted Monday evening that having "now been enshrined in late night TV history with all these impersonations," he would like to note that "they are all TERRIBLE so far." Santos specifically name-checked Saturday Night Live alumnus Jon Lovitz, saying he's "supposed to be one of the greatest comedians of all time" but his Santos impersonation "was embarrassing — for him not me!" He ended by suggesting comedians "step their game up."
Santos has a point about being hard to parody. His embellishments and outrageous lies are his own act, and he is very committed to the bit. Lovitz, who appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, went bigger and bolder — and threw in a song.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Stephen Colbert's Late Show, Harvey Guillén was only slightly more subdued, but he looked the part — and brought props and costume changes.
Jimmy Kimmel Live's impersonation was the most realistic, as Kimmel chased a kleptomaniac, questions-dodging Santos (Nelson Franklin) through the halls of Congress.
SNL had its Santos impersonator, Bowen Yang, on twice, in the NFL cold open....
...and on "Weekend Update." Yang's Santos even had an explanation about why he appears Asian — a claim Santos has not yet made, as far as we know.
The full Oscar Wilde quote is: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness." Wilde borrowed that idea. Santos borrowed all his purported greatness from jobs he never had, history he never earned, people he never knew, and institutions he never attended. So maybe the better adage here is about people in glass houses not throwing stones.
-
Crisis in Cuba: a ‘golden opportunity’ for Washington?Talking Point The Trump administration is applying the pressure, and with Latin America swinging to the right, Havana is becoming more ‘politically isolated’
-
5 thoroughly redacted cartoons about Pam Bondi protecting predatorsCartoons Artists take on the real victim, types of protection, and more
-
Palestine Action and the trouble with defining terrorismIn the Spotlight The issues with proscribing the group ‘became apparent as soon as the police began putting it into practice’
-
Labor secretary’s husband barred amid assault probeSpeed Read Shawn DeRemer, the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been accused of sexual assault
-
Trump touts pledges at 1st Board of Peace meetingSpeed Read At the inaugural meeting, the president announced nine countries have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion for a Gaza relief package
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
