While becoming a national laughingstock lampooned by late-night talk show hosts and “Saturday Night Live” skits, Congressman George Santos has become something of a cringe-worthy cultural icon for his slew of lies and deceptions about his background, including where he went to school, where he worked, his personal finances and his family history. On Jan. 25, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, unveiled the first George Santos Bobbleheads due to popular demand, according to co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar.
“We have been receiving a growing number of requests for a bobblehead of George Santos,” Sklar said. “No one knows how and when the drama surrounding George Santos will end, but we know the bobblehead will be the perfect collectible to commemorate this unbelievable story for years to come.”
Two versions of the bobblehead are being offered — a standard version and one with an elongated nose given the seemingly never-ending series of lies and fabrications. The bobblehead will play audio clips of some of Santos’ biggest lies in his own words at the touch of a button.
The Santos bobbleheads, which are expected to be shipped in May, are $30 each or $55 for a set of two with the Pinocchio version. Sklar said $5 from each purchase will be donated to dog-related GoFundMe campaigns after Navy veteran Rich Osthoff revealed that Santos allegedly raised $3,000 for lifesaving surgery for his beloved service dog and kept the cash.
“We have more than 10,000 bobbleheads on display in the museum including the first bobblehead of John F. Kennedy from the 1960s as well as all of the other presidents and famous figures like Albert Einstein and world leaders,” Sklar told QNS. “And yeah, there’s plenty of bad guys on display, too, from serial killers to Osama Bin Laden, Putin, Kim Jong Un and lots of mobsters.”
He added that future versions of the Santos bobblehead may include one of Kitare Ravanche, the name he allegedly used in Brazil at drag queen pageants.
“It’s definitely a possibility,” Sklar said. “We haven’t really decided yet until we see what happens with this one and how the story continues to unfold before we go forward with future versions. But you know if we get requests for it like we did this one then we just might. There are already drag queen bobbleheads out there.”
While voters from both parties in his district wish Santos would disappear from the daily headlines, Sklar understands why there is so much interest across the nation.
“Being from New York may fuel some of the attention but if this guy was from Iowa, or you know, Montana, he would still be getting plenty of press because we’ve never seen anything like this man before,” Sklar said. “I mean, there’ve been politicians who’ve lied or stretched the truth, but not to the level we’re seeing here and especially for a newly elected representative, especially in today’s world where everything seems to be known to the public.”
Sklar said he’s been receiving orders from all over the country and doesn’t expect interest in Santos to die down anytime soon.
“It’s just one of those stories almost like a movie where if it wasn’t a movie you wouldn’t believe it, so yeah, I think that’s part of the fascination that people are having with it,” Sklar said. “I think people will be talking about this guy for future generations. When they talk about or investigate crooked politicians they’ll always come back to George Santos because he’ll be synonymous with politicians not telling the truth.”
For more information, or to purchase the Santos bobbleheads, visit store bobbleheadhall.com/products/georgesantos.
