Rep. George Santos ain't Rosa Parks, despite comparing himself to the civil rights pioneer -- so says the icon's niece ... telling GS to keep her name out of his mouth.
Rhea McCauley tells TMZ ... she felt it was totally inappropriate for Santos to compare himself to her aunt, saying it's apples to oranges when it comes to the situation. She also says other family members related to Parks are pretty pissed about his remarks too.
The NY congressman name-dropped RP in a recent interview he did, where he referenced Sen. Mitt Romney telling him to sit toward the back during Biden's SOTU earlier this year ... this after he'd been exposed as having told several different lies before getting elected.
Santos said he didn't appreciate a white man (Romney) telling a Latino gay man that he didn't belong somewhere -- then saying Rosa Parks didn't give up her seat way back when.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said after the State of the Union address on Tuesday that Rep George Santos (R-N.Y.) “shouldn’t be in Congress.” https://t.co/zfDvNI7oJi pic.twitter.com/pMZPQiZXUN
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 8, 2023
In other words, he seemed to be suggesting ... he wouldn't either, likening himself to her.
McCauley says she and the rest of the fam are ticked off that Santos even brought her up, pointing out that his juxtaposition here isn't even historically accurate -- namely, on account of the fact that Parks was fighting against segregation ... and that George seems to be airing out a petty feud between himself and another politician. Not really the same thing.
She says he owes the Parks family an apology for misusing her name. Also, she notes her aunt very likely wouldn't have been cool with him ... seeing how she didn't like fabricators.