George Santos calls man ‘human scum’ for asking question about Gaza
U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) became emotional as he talked about the situation in Israel during a break in a House Republican caucus meeting. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
By PJ Grisar October 13, 2023
In a bizarre and dramatic scene on Capitol Hill, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) called a man a terrorist sympathizer for asking what he was doing about the situation in Gaza.
In clips posted to social media, Santos can be seen identifying a man to a Capitol Police officer as someone who had accosted him “while I had a two-month-old baby in my hand.” Santos then approached the gentleman and addressed him, saying “you came in my personal space yelling, threatening the decorum.”
Just now on Capitol Hill: George Santos has a yelling match with a man who’s here, calling the man “human scum,” screaming at the top of his lungs. Man says his name is Shabd Singh of Washington, a Jewish American who’s critical of Israeli policies. Video of the moment here ? pic.twitter.com/iZrTZWeg8v
The man asked Santos, currently facing mounting legal troubles including charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, what he was doing about the Israeli army’s bombing campaign in Gaza. Santos then pointed his finger at the gentleman and insisted it was “abhorrent that you are in this building stepping up for terrorists.” Santos called the man a “terrorist sympathizer” while storming off.
The man was identified by NBC reporter Sahil Kapur as a Jewish American named Shabd Singh. Though the audio is difficult to make out, Singh appears to say that he is the descendant of survivors of the Holocaust. Santos, who the Forward found to have lied about having Holocaust survivor grandparents, fired back “I don’t care — you are human scum.”
Singh could be heard calling Santos a “coward.” Santos walked down the corridor screaming, saying “the next time he accosts me with a child in my hand, I want him out of here.”
What just happened in Longworth??? pic.twitter.com/ujKHayt8aT
“Nobody defending Hamas has any business in this building, whether you’re elected, whether you’re a civilian,” Santos said. “It is a disgrace that we allow people to parade that kind of thought in here.”
Singh, who did not appear to defend Hamas in the video, appears to have encountered Santos earlier, when pictures show the congressman was holding an infant.
New York Sun correspondent Matt Rice snapped a picture of Santos with the infant leaving Rep. Tim Burchett’s office. Asked if the baby was his, Santos said “not yet.”
George Santos just left Tim Burchett’s office with a baby in his arms. When asked if it was his baby, he said “not yet.” pic.twitter.com/QQsfPAo8hC
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
