It’s not uncommon for onetime Republican members of Congress to move to cable news after leaving the House.
It’s a path taken by Jason Chaffetz, Trey Gowdy and Joe Scarborough — but don’t expect recently expelled congressman George Santos to join their ranks.
Mediaite recently asked the major news networks if there was a chance they might hire the New York Republican in any capacity, be it as news host or pundit.
The response from Fox News, MSNBC and CNN was an emphatic (and we’re paraphrasing here) no f-ing way.
A source at both NBC News and MSNBC said they “have no plans” of working with Santos, and a CNN spokesperson said they don’t even plan on speaking with him.
Meanwhile, a Fox News source told Mediaite they “have no intention of entertaining that notion,” an opinion shared by NewsNation.
Even the very conservative One America News Network denies interest, though the response of a network spokesperson wasn’t an outright denial.
“We are unaware of Mr. Santos seeking a position in media. Nor have we reached out to him,” the network told Mediaite.
Newsmax, where Santos has frequently appeared in recent weeks, did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Comedian John Oliver does think George Santos is perfect for TV — but not for anything connected to news.
On Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” he made a case for Santos’ next gig: a reality star on Bravo TV.
“Just think of everything he packed in during his brief time on the national stage, like when he implied that his young niece had been kidnapped from a playground in Queens, possibly in retaliation for his comments about China. Or the ‘9/11 claimed my mother’s life,’ even though she wasn’t even in New York at the time. That kind of messiness isn’t just ‘friends of’ behavior, it’s full-on Housewife!” he said.
“Santos delivered hard for us,” he added. “And I don’t want him to be in my government, and I don’t want him to sit next to him on an airplane, but I definitely want him in Andy Cohen’s menagerie of damaged human beings.”
Meanwhile, Santos could be on TV screen in a slightly fictionalized version.
That’s because HBO Films recently optioned the rights to a book about Santos titled “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos,” Deadline reported Saturday.
TV news may not be calling for Santos, but he is hoping to make bank by offering his services as a “former Congressional icon” on Cameo.