'Radioactive': Santos’ press secretary divulges on 'perfect storm' of a job, calls boss 'borderline genius'

13 February 2023

Gabrielle Lipsky, press secretary to New York GOP Rep. George Santos, describes her experience working with the congressman as “essentially a rapid-fire crash course” for the 24-year-old staffer, Business Insider reports.

As a staffer in the office of a representative who is a proven liar, currently under several investigations and receiving daily calls from constituents to resign, Lipsky says working as Santos' communications lead is "a lot."

Aside from her role as press secretary, per Insider, Lipsky also takes on the "role of office manager, occasionally acts as a liaison, and almost always mans the office's phones."

While manning the phones, the Adelphi University graduate notes she often receives "furious calls from people across the US, many relaying their anger that Santos has yet to resign," according to Insider.

"They curse us out, they threaten us," Lipsky said. "There are so many times when people ask me: 'How could you work for somebody like that?'"

On top of managing calls from frustrated constituents, Lipsky told Insider she also comes in contact with criticism from those who spend time in Santos' office building.

"I see the looks we get in the hallway, the selfies being taken in front of the office, and I know people think that the staff is radioactive," she said.

Nonetheless, Lipsky asserts she approaches her role with as little emotion as possible, according to Insider. She said managing the lofty responsibility, for her, is "a matter of just being very matter-of-fact."

Despite the persistent backlash, the staffer said she considers the job the "perfect storm," and refers to Santos as "borderline genius" for his antics, although she believes "each and every single person that works in this office is going to come out battle-tested."

Lipsky, who has worked alongside Santos since his campaign for election, previously worked for a PR firm where the congressman was a client. Insider reports she was hired to join the campaign staff in April of 2022.

Addditionally, not only did Lipsky support Santos prior to his winning the election --- so did her parents.

Insider reports:

The staffer told Insider her father, David Lipsky, donated more than $8,000 to Santos' campaign in December 2021 — roughly five months before his daughter joined the team.

Her mother, Casey Lipsky, also donated $5,800 the same day, and contributed a further $1,450 in August 2022.

Lipsky told Insider, "It's no secret that my parents are donors to many members of the Republican Party, like many other thousands of freedom-loving Americans."

Furthermore, the staffer's grandmother, Eva Lipsky, who survived the Holocaust, "loves" Santos.

When Insider asked Lipsky about her thoughts regarding Santos' lying about his grandparents also surviving the Holocaust, she responded, "When the speculation started, of course I raised an eyebrow. I was like, 'Ok, well that's odd." She continued, "At the same time, if it was the case they were actual stories told by his family — he's not going to question it. I wouldn't question it. Who would?"

Regarding her parents continued support despite the revealing of Santos' true character, Lipsky insisted, "They know how much politics means to me, as well as the future of the state of New York, and out of their love and support for me, they help candidates and they are political advocates in any way that they can."

The staffer said, "At the end of the day, the congressman has a job to do and he needs people to help him do that. Someone's got to do it."

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