Ex-GOP lawmaker freed from prison by Trump under fire from MAGA for 'betraying' president

Former Republican lawmaker George Santos is under fire Friday as MAGA loyalists are accusing him of betraying President Donald Trump by making an early endorsement for 2028.

“If [Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)] runs in 2028 I will crawl through glass to vote for her and campaign for her just like I did for President Trump,” wrote Santos, who was recently released from prison after his sentence was commuted by Trump, in a social media post on X Friday.

Santos was quickly dog-piled online by those who characterized the endorsement as a betrayal to Trump, who commuted his sentence last month and has already endorsed the idea of Vice President JD Vance running for president in 2028.

“You really said that? Over the VP of the person that pardoned you?” wrote Chris Brooks, a Texas political commentator who’s frequently posted pro-Trump content to his more than 3,000 followers on X.

“She is undermining President Trump and MAGA,” wrote another X user who describes themselves as “MAGA” and has amassed more than 43,000 followers.

Santos, however, did not take the criticism kindly, and fired back at his critics’ suggestions as “silly.”

“To suggest my support of MTG as a betrayal of [Trump] is silly!” Santos wrote in a subsequent social media post. “I always was and always will be a strong Supporter of President Trump. Unless he runs again in 2028 which I would obviously support him. Unless that happens I am not a person who goes with mob rule and MTG will have my support if she chooses to run.”

Santos was released from prison last month after serving less than three months of his 87-month sentence for wire fraud and identity theft. Greene may have played a role in Santos’ release after sounding the alarm over Santos’ treatment in prison, which she described as “torture.”

Santos was first elected to Congress in 2022, but was soon expelled by the House after being federally indicted on fraud charges. It would later be revealed that Santos had fabricated much of his history leading up to his election, including falsely claiming that he was Jewish, and insisting he attended schools that had no record of his enrollment.