Internet Drags Rep. Steve King for Racist Tweet

Gina Mei
Updated
Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

From Cosmopolitan

While Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has made his fair share of controversial remarks over the years, his latest tweet has earned the wrath of social media for his support of white nationalism and far-right, anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

On Sunday, King retweeted a cartoon from the anti-immigrant account Voice of Europe, featuring Wilders poking his finger into a cracked wall representing "Western Civilization" as a "wave" of Islam crashes over it. In the cartoon, Wilders holds a copy of "Fitna," the anti-Islam short film he co-wrote in an attempt to prove the Quran promotes hatred and violence - an idea the cartoon itself tries to promote, as well.

But rather than ignore or condemn this racist cartoon, King instead voiced his agreement with it and with Wilders ideas.

"Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny," he wrote. "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

Many were quick to voice their outrage in response to King's tweet, especially in light of its blatant white nationalism. Even a few of his colleagues joined in on the conversation, asking him to clarify who, exactly, he was referring to when he said "our civilization" and "somebody else's babies."

Here are just a few people who have spoken out against him and his racist tweet so far.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Updated 3/13 at 7:30 p.m.: Rep. Steve King doubled down on his controversial, white nationalist tweet in an interview with CNN on Monday.

"I meant exactly what I said," he said. "I've been to Europe and spoken on this issue ... I've said to them, 'You cannot rebuild your civilization with somebody else's babies.' You've got to keep your birthrate up, and ... you need to teach your children your values."

"If you go down the road a few generations or maybe centuries with the intermarriage, I'd like to see an America that's just so homogeneous that we look a lot the same," he continued. "I think there's far too much focus on race, especially in the last eight years, and I want to see that put behind us."

Meanwhile, most of King's GOP colleagues have come out against his tweet and followup interview, including Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann.

"First of all, I do not agree with Congressman King's statement. We are a nation of immigrants, and diversity is the strength of any nation and any community," he said in a statement on Monday. "Regarding David Duke, his words and sentiments are absolute garbage. He is not welcome in our wonderful state."

Speaker Paul Ryan also released a statement on Monday condemning King's remarks.

"The speaker clearly disagrees and believes America's long history of inclusiveness is one of its great strengths," Ryan's press secretary AshLee Strong said, according to ABC.

Follow Gina on Twitter.

You Might Also Like