Rep. Steve King (R-IA) once again made bizarre comments in defense of his extremist opinions. This time, rather than defending white supremacy, he was arguing that laws against abortion should not have exceptions for rape and incest because rape and incest are essential to the survival of the species.
“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?” he asked the Westside Conservative Club Wednesday.
“Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”
King’s proposed legislation outright banning abortion in all cases was blocked by his fellow Republicans.
Earlier this year, King came under fire for telling the New York Times that he didn’t understand why white supremacy, white nationalism, and “Western supremacy” were considered offensive. His Republican colleagues finally noticed just how racist he was, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) stripped him of his committee assignments. McCarthy stopped short, however, of supporting censure.
Since then, King has bemoaned the way he was treated while doubling down on his hateful positions. He cited the support of a coalition of racist and anti-LGBTQ groups to suggest that his assignments should reinstated. He posted a meme suggesting conservatives would massacre liberals if there were a civil war. (King notably keeps a Confederate Flag on his desk despite the fact Iowa was not part of the Confederacy.) Even during his speech Wednesday, he claimed that he was “misquoted” and that there was an “orchestrated” attempt to force him to resign.
King notably mentioned that there was a plan to have President Donald Trump criticize him, but he met with Trump and got the impression that there’s “no signal from Donald Trump that he’s anything other than supportive of me.”
Trump has spent the summer engaging in some rather egregious racism, including against multiple members of Congress of color, and his xenophobic rhetoric was cited as part of the El Paso shooter’s motive. That he was fine with King’s comments is a telling detail.
ThinkProgress reached out to McCarthy’s office for comment, including as to whether the Minority Leader was reconsidering support for censure, but did not immediately hear back.
Wednesday afternoon, House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) condemned King’s remarks as “appalling and bizarre” and once again called for his resignation, having done so previously in January.
Today’s comments by @RepSteveKingIA are appalling and bizarre. As I’ve said before, it’s time for him to go. The people of Iowa’s 4th congressional district deserve better.
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) August 14, 2019
This piece has been updated to include Cheney’s remarks.