<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5ff1bc07a18a450018cb689f-1328/AP20218757856449.jpg" border="0" alt="AP20218757856449" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Lynne Sladky" data-mce-caption="Mar-a-Lago resort owned by President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>A failed GOP congressional candidate has claimed that his fianc was fired, and that the couple had to flee their home, for attending a lavish New Year's Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort owned by President Donald Trump.</p><p>George Santos, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-new-york-house-district-3.html">unsuccessfully ran</a> against incumbent Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, for New York's 3rd district in the 2020 election, posted photos of the event to his official <a href="https://www.instagram.com/santos4_congress/">Instagram account</a>.</p><p>Santos made his account private on Sunday morning, but you can see some screenshots below.</p><p>In one photo, Santos can be seen posing with his fianc in formal attire. In another, he is seen shaking hands with Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.</p><p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5ff1d604a18a450018cb68aa-1200/george%20santos%20fiance%20mar%20a%20lago.png" border="0" alt="george santos fiance mar a lago" data-mce-source="George Santos/Instagram"></p><p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5ff1d6049ff41f001883fadb-1200/george%20santos%20rudy%20giuliani.png" border="0" alt="george santos rudy giuliani" data-mce-source="George Santos/Instagram"></p><p>Footage from the event showed dozens of people <a href="https://twitter.com/ksolerseeds/status/1345064371597287432">dancing without masks or social distancing</a>.</p><p>On January 1, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/01/us/politics/trump-new-years-eve-mar-a-lago.html">published a report</a> saying the gala appeared to violate Palm Beach County's COVID-19 guidelines, which included one hyperlink to Santos's Instagram photo of the evening's menu.</p><p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5ff1d95ca18a450018cb68af-1200/george%20santos%20mar%20a%20lago%20menu.png" border="0" alt="george santos mar a lago menu" data-mce-source="George Santos/Instagram"></p><p>On January 2, Santos claimed that The Times' article resulted in his pharmacist fianc's losing his job, and the couple having to flee their home as a result.</p><p>"My fianc and I had to leave our home this evening with our 4 dogs thanks to the New York Times publishing of my Instagram showing me attending the Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve Party," Santos tweeted.</p><p>"My fianc a pharmacist who worked 12h/7 days shifts for 9 months was fired! The violence against us is real."</p><p>Santos added in a Saturday night Instagram post: "@nytimes,you have exposed my family to danger and have stripped one of us of our livelihood! This is unAmerican."</p><p>Insider has contacted The New York Times for comment.</p><p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5f7708c374fe5b0018a8ea3c-2400/GettyImages-654586832.jpg" border="0" alt="Melania Trump" data-mce-source="Justin Sullivan / Staff / Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Melania wearing a red coat dress which Vogue noted was reminiscent of the gown Nancy Reagan wore for her husband's swearing in ceremony."></p><p>Trump and first lady Melania Trump were originally billed to attend the party, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ditches-new-years-mar-a-lago-party-2020-12">decided not to go at the last minute</a>.</p><p>However, many of Trump's associates, including Rep. Matt Gaetz and the president's sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., were in attendance.</p><p>Trump Jr. posted footage of the event of him and a maskless crowd dancing to Vanilla Ice that night, <a href="https://www.insider.com/vanilla-ice-trump-mar-a-lago-new-years-eve-party-2021-1">prompting widespread criticism and mockery</a>.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php'height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDonaldJTrumpJr%2Fvideos%2F1816785178487397%2F&show_text=false&width=267" width="267" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div><p>The event took place on the same day that Florida reported 17,192 new coronavirus cases, the largest single-day increase yet.</p><p>The state has recorded 1.35 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-candidate-claims-fiance-fired-attending-mar-a-lago-party-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-symphony-seas-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-deals-with-waste-2020-3">How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship</a></p>
Click here to read full news..
