Steve King echoes white nationalists: "I am a champion for Western civilization"

King tweeted Sunday , "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published March 13, 2017 12:38PM (EDT)

Steve King   (Reuters/Brian C. Frank)
Steve King (Reuters/Brian C. Frank)

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is continuing to toe the white nationalist line Monday, following a controversial tweet over the weekend.

After promoting an article by Dutch far right-wing leader Geert Wilders Sunday, King wrote "Wilders understands that culture and demographics are destiny. We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

Not surprisingly, King's comment was met with scorn by moderate conservatives like independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, but applause from far right leaders like former KKK grand wizard David Duke.

During an appearance on CNN's New Day on Monday, King defended his remarks by rhetorically asking "We have an element of Americans here, and that's a big element, that rejects Western civilization, then what have we?" King also insisted that "I am a champion for Western civilization" and, when asked about whether he believes people of all cultures who live in this country are equally American, responded that "they contribute differently to our culture and our civilization." He rejected the claim that his remarks were racist, arguing that "it's the culture, not the blood" and insisting that "it's not about race, it's never been about race... It's a clash of cultures, not the race."

This isn't the first time that King has made white nationalist comments. In September King posted a picture of himself on Twitter next to far right-wing leaders from Germany (Fauke Petry) and the Netherlands (Geert Wilders) while saying, "Wishing you successful vote. Cultural suicide by demographic transformation must end."

 In July, King made similar comments during an appearance on MSNBC. After another guest pointed out how the Republican Party continues to be dominated by "unhappy, dissatisfied white people," King replied, "This whole business does get a little tired, Charlie. I would ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you are talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

MORE FROM Matthew Rozsa


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Donald Trump Geert Wilders Immigration Muslims Rep. Steve King Steve King