George Santos has changed many times over the years. He mused about lip filler and Ozempic; he had different takes on abortion bans as well as Covid-19. He changed his story, too: about being a volleyball champion, a Broadway producer, “a proud American Jew,” or just “Jew-ish.” But one thing he rarely did, at least after 2015, was change his tune about Donald Trump.
He has always been both an acolyte and an avatar of Trump. As a complete unknown on Long Island, New York, he relied on Trump slogans and a 2022 red wave to win a congressional seat and help secure GOP control of the House. His MAGA identity won him podcast clout among a new generation of Trump-loving young Republicans — very online, very sarcastic, and soon-to-be very successful. It won him friends like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, fellow members of Congress who cheered Trump on as their party leader rose and fell and rose again.
I’ve been on the Trump train, far before Trump was ever president, far before he announced, we’re talking ‘Apprentice’ days.”
former rep. george santos
Now, Santos’ loyalty seems to have helped secure his freedom less than three months into a seven-plus year sentence following the president’s commutation on Friday night. Santos pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, a small portion of the misdeeds he has been accused of by former friends, colleagues, and enemies.
Explaining his decision, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Santos “has been horribly mistreated” and also “had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!” That first part is a stretch, given Santos’ own guilty plea. But it’s hard to argue with Santos’ loyalty.
In an open letter penned from prison and published just a few days before the commutation, the 37-year-old Santos made his commitment to the president explicit. “During my short tenure in Congress, I stood firmly behind your agenda,” Santos wrote. “You have always been a man of second chances, a leader who believes in redemption and renewal. I am asking you now, from the depths of my heart, to extend that same belief to me.”
It’s been a common refrain. In a 2019 video, Santos claimed, “I’ve been on the Trump train, far before Trump was ever president, far before he announced, we’re talking ‘Apprentice’ days.” Despite coming from an immigrant family, Santos mimicked Trump’s rhetoric about immigration. He spoke at a pro-Trump rally on Jan. 5, 2021. He showed up outside Trump’s 2023 arraignment and also his 2024 victory party in New Hampshire.
Perhaps the president was moved by Santos’ complaints, including some about solitary confinement, or perhaps he simply fell for Santos’ flattery: “I didn’t know him, but he was 100 percent for Trump,” Trump said of the expelled congressman in August.
Perhaps Trump simply decided to placate the many pleas from Greene — who “fought like a lion” to free her former co-worker, according to Santos’ lawyer — or the other MAGA allies who reportedly put in a good word for the loyal soldier. “The reach-outs on this that President Trump got were overwhelming,” a White House official told NBC News. “He heard from so many people, and in recent days he decided it was the right decision. It’s his call, and he made it.” Indeed, that may be as much thought as Trump put into the decision to spare Santos. The two throw out posts and provocations and see what catches fire. The dud decisions don’t seem to hurt. They play victim and duck the consequences and keep going. The administration has pardoned Jan. 6 rioters and disgraced politicians, running roughshod over the concept of criminal “justice” in the process. Shamelessness wins. He has always been both an acolyte and an avatar of Trump. As a complete unknown on Long Island, New York, he relied on Trump slogans and a 2022 red wave to win a congressional seat and help secure GOP control of the House. His MAGA identity won him podcast clout among a new generation of Trump-loving young Republicans — very online, very sarcastic, and soon-to-be very successful. It won him friends like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, fellow members of Congress who cheered Trump on as their party leader rose and fell and rose again.
Mark Chiusano
Mark Chiusano is a journalist and author of a book about George Santos, "The Fabulist." He started covering Santos in 2019 as a columnist and editorial writer at Newsday. 
