Video: George Santos Appeared at Brandon Straka Event Under Alias
Author: Christopher Wiggins
A new video resurfaced online shows New York Rep. George Santos introducing himself under a different name and praising a would-be insurrectionist as his “idol.”
Reportedly appearing in 2019 at a WalkAway LGBT event in New York City, Santos introduced himself by another name — Anthony Devolder.
WalkAway, founded by gay New York hairstylist Brandon Straka, is a group that urges queer liberals to leave the Democratic party. Straka has become a popular right-wing media personality.
“So my name’s Anthony Devolder,” Santos can be heard saying in the clip. “I’m a New York City resident. I’ve recently founded a group called United for Trump, so if you guys want to follow, that would be awesome.”
The progressive activist and influencer account PatriotTakes tweeted the unearthed video.
“In 2019, George Santos introduced himself as Anthony Devolder, the founder of “United for Trump,” during a Q & A session at a “Walk Away LGBT” event in NYC. Santos said trans people could benefit from a trans conservative activist educating them,” the account commented alongside the clip.
Santos raises a question about trans people and the right-wing’s perception of the mainstream media narrative.
“Brandon, you’re an idol to all of us. Thank you,” he says to Straka.
Straka pleaded guilty in federal court for his involvement in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Santos claims his full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos. The same year that he appeared at the Walk Away LGBT event, Santos was also married to a woman named Uadla Santos Vieira Santos, who he married in 2012, the Daily Beast reported. He married her under the name George A. Devolder Santos.
Santos’s full legal name cannot be confirmed because his birth certificate hasn’t been made public. Devolder, according to media reports, was his late mother’s maiden name. It’s unclear exactly why he’s gone by so many aliases.
“How do you think that as a trans woman and a conservative, you can help educate other trans people from not having to follow the narrative that the media and the Democrats put forward? And how can Brandon incorporate that into walkaway in more in depth?” Santos, going by Devolder, asked right-wing transgender pundit, YouTuber, and commentator Blaire White.
“My approach has always been to just live my life authentically, [and] make the videos I want to make,” White replied. “I don’t like using the word educate because I feel like we [don’t] want to teach anyone anything —I just want to be myself. And I feel like that actually does work wonders.”
“For me, that’s my form of activism, if you can call it that,” she concluded.
The video ends shortly after that without returning to Santos at all.
Santos has withstood mounting pressure on him to resign, though the new Republican speaker of the house is standing by the first-year lawmaker. Members of the Nassau County Republican Committee in his home district have declared him to be persona non grata and have said he is unwelcome at party headquarters and must resign.
Santos has said he would not resign unless 142,000 people (the number who elected him) asked him to.
Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Christopher Wiggins
