Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is at it again and in the news for incredibly racist remarks, this time saying that non-white Americans are all basically “someone else’s babies”. We in the immigration reform movement are well acquainted with Steve King and his antics, so here are some quick links on what you might need to know about Steve King’s latest comment.
First, because Steve King is always the gift that keeps on giving, his latest eyebrow-raiser is actually at least three four statements:
- He said that “Culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”
- When asked to clarify, he said, “I’d like to see an America that’s just so homogenous that we look a lot the same.”
- When asked if Muslim citizens are equal to white ones, King repeatedly hesitated: “Individuals will contribute differently, not equally to this civilization and society. Certain groups of people will do more from a productive side than other groups of people will.”
- He also said that he predicted minorities would eventually turn on each other: “When you start accentuating [racial] differences, then you start ending up with people that are at each other’s throats. And [King critic Jorge Ramos] is adding up Hispanics and blacks into what he predicts will be in greater number than whites in America. I will predict that Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens.”
- King also reemphasized his view that “Western civilization” is “a superior civilization.”
Gabe Ortiz at Daily Kos reminded us that Steve King has been a “jackass for years”, from the time that he said that Dreamers have “calves the size of cantaloupes” to the time he questioned when “any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization” than whites.
At Slate, Ben Mathis-Lilley pointed out Donald Trump’s longstanding alliance with Steve King, bringing up Trump’s 2014 endorsement of King in West Des Moines: “I’m here to support Steve King—a special guy, a smart person with, really, the right views on almost everything.”
(In another Trump-King connection, Steve King once reportedly tried to arrange for a “Chinese masseuse” to be sent to his room during a 2013 trip to Moscow where he stayed at the same Ritz-Carlton that Donald Trump is alleged to …. have spent time in.)
Some Miami Republicans have denounced King, but GOP leadership has — predictably — been more or less silent. Speaker Paul Ryan’s spokesperson today issued this tepid statement: “The speaker clearly disagrees and believes America’s long history of inclusiveness is one of its great strengths.”
One person was very quick to support King’s remarks — former KKK grand wizard David Duke, who tweeted “GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!! #TruthRISING.”
View our Storify for more reactions to today’s Steve King comments:
