Over the weekend, Republican Rep. Steve King tweeted a controversial comment in relation to Muslim immigration. Despite receiving heavy backlash, King has decided to double down on his comments.
King on race wars
On Sunday, GOP Rep. Steve King took to Twitter and retweeted an satirical cartoon depicting the right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders preventing the spread of Islamic terrorism into the West. Attached to the retweet was King's own words, writing in part "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." Within minutes, King received push back, even from those in his own party, who accused the congressman of promoting division and racism.
King has since defended his comments, claiming they were taken out of context. As reported by CNN on March 14, the controversial Republican took his agenda to the next level during a recent radio interview.
Rep. Steve King: Blacks and Hispanics "will be fighting each other" before overtaking whites in population https://t.co/LiNO1M6kCM pic.twitter.com/uPxJwXPNMH
— CNN (@CNN) March 14, 2017
Joining radio show host Jan Mickelson of local 1040 WHO, Steve King was asked about recent comments made by Jorge Ramos of Univison who explained that whites could become a minority by the year 2044. In response, King appeared to predict a potential race war between African-Americans, Hispanics, and whites.
Steve King Predicts Race War Between Blacks and Latinos https://t.co/3YQP6cz1X4 pic.twitter.com/k7bAYuoOKg
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) March 14, 2017
"He's (Ramos) adding up Hispanics and blacks into what he predicts will be in greater number than whites in America," Steve King said of Jorge Ramos' comments.
"I will predict that Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens," King continued.
CNN clash
Steve King made similar comments on Monday during an interview with CNN host Chris Cuomo where he explained that his remarks were not in relation to race, but rather "our stock, our country, our culture, our civilization." During the CNN interview, King was challenged by Cuomo over whether or not he believed that Muslim-Americans were equal to others, using Italian-Americans as an example.
King paused, unable to give a straight answer, leaving Cuomo stunned, while asking, "Why do you have to pause!?"
Moving forward
The backlash to Steve King's comments have continued, with many across social media labeling the congressman a white supremacist, while comparing him to Charles manson. "This is Manson-level racist delusion," one Twitter user wrote, while another added, "sounds like something Charles Manson would say."
