Santos' Cameo Earnings Exceed His House Salary

UPDATE Dec 6, 2023 8:59 AM CST

Sen. John Fetterman and others are having fun with George Santos' new Cameo career, but the former GOP congressman may be the one having the last laugh. Santos' House salary stood at $174,000, and Semafor reports he has "lined up more than that sum" in just his first 48 hours on the Cameo platform. Santos "is going to be an absolute whale," Cameo CEO Steven Galanis says. "Sarah Jessica Parker, Bon Jovi—he's putting numbers up like that." "Obviously there's a monetary benefit—I'm not here doing it for charity—but the other aspect is to remind these a--holes who think they're holier than thou that they will be forgotten in history and I will live forever, period," Santos explained. The New York Times notes politicians have made big bucks on Cameo before: Sarah Palin, for instance, brought in more than $210,000 in 2021.

Dec 4, 2023 3:11 PM CST

How does an expelled congressman make a buck? Selling $200 videos on the website Cameo, apparently. The Hill reports that George Santos is on the site hawking the videos, in which people can request personalized messages. One of his former staffers confirms to Wired that it's legit. A link to Cameo also is now part of his bio on the X platform. "They can boot me out of Congress but they can't take away my good humor or my larger than life personality, nor my good faith and the absolute pride I have for everything I've done," the former New York congressman says in one of his first videos.

The Cut thinks a Santos video would make a dynamite Christmas gift. "If you're on the fence about shelling out ($200) for a one-of-a-kind greeting, consider the fact that it is not just a good gift, but could eventually get subpoenaed by the Department of Justice," writes Olivia Craighead. "You could be part of history." The site is more typically used by celebs—Brian Baumgartner, aka Kevin from The Office, has been one of the more popular ones—but political figures including Sarah Palin and Roger Stone also have pages there. (A George Santos movie is in the works, too.)