Embattled Rep. George Santos has gotten a rare compliment — from Howard Stern of all people.
The shock jock called Santos “compassionate” after hearing “a lovely story” about the disgraced Republican while interviewing Long Island lawyer Michael Weinstock Jan. 4 on his SiriusXM radio show.
Stern was commenting on Weinstock telling him that Santos had phoned to express concern about his painful, incurable illness, saying, “Are you feeling suicidal? And if you ever did, would you tell me?”
On the 9/11 anniversary, Santos also posted a photo of Weinstock, a Democrat, on his Instagram page to honor the lawyer’s service as a former volunteer firefighter and 9/11 responder.
“I’m gonna say something and I know, look, I’m not high on this guy from what I’m reading. I mean, they say Santos lied about his mom dying on 9/11. I mean, that’s as low as you can go.
“But that’s a very lovely story,” Stern said of Weinstock’s recounting. “So you know, I guess in painting a picture of this guy, we’re gonna give him a nice check mark on that story. Because it’s very compassionate.”
Stern’s generous comments came amid the firestorm over Santos’ lies about his education, career, finances, religion and family history.
Weinstock told The Post that Santos promised to host the lawyer’s GoFundMe site after the election to defray his medical costs, but never did. However, Santos donated $180 three times — for Jews, gifts in multiples of 18 bring good luck.
Read Related Also: Leonidas Raisini Wiki, Biography, Age, Parents, Wife, Net Worth & More
Stern asked if Santos, because he and Weinstock are both gay, was possibly “sexually attracted” to him. Weinstock said that was “my fiance’s theory,” but he didn’t know. Santos’ was married to a man at the time, he said.
The radio star, of course, also cracked some jokes, asking Weinstock, “Did he [Santos] do any of the Jewish prayers over you?” Santos has admitted he is Catholic, not Jewish, and only “Jew-ish.”
Stern finished the segment by bringing on “Santos” to “say a prayer for Michael,” with a recorded rabbi chanting the verse in Hebrew.
Weinstock, who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional district in 2020, said Santos visited him the summer of 2021 after hearing that he had broken his foot.
Weinstock later confided to Santos that he suffers from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a painful neurological illness dubbed the “Suicide Disease” because there is no cure.
Santos vowed to fight to get neuropathy recognized by the WTC Health Program as a 9/11-linked illness, and to bring Weinstock to Biden’s State of the Union speech as a VIP guest. Those plans are now in doubt, if not impossible, Weinstock fears, since Santos has lost credibility.
“I was hoping and expecting that he would become the new Peter King and demonstrate leadership on 9/11 health issues,” Weinstock said.
Weinstock said he never contributed to Santos’ campaign, and voted for his opponent, Democrat Robert Zimmerman.
