For more than a decade, Iowa congressman Steve King was seen as little more than a local wingnut, too extreme, too nativist, too racist for mainstream political discourse. He kept winning re-election somehow, but he was largely shunned by most Republican power brokers and elites. Then Donald Trump happened, and Trump is basically Steve King with a outer-borough New York accent. Trump adopted all of King’s rhetoric about immigration, border walls and race in general. That’s why the New York Times interviewed Rep. King this week, as we are in midst of a government shutdown which seems to largely be about Trump’s racism and his need for a metaphoric wall. This is the part of the King interview getting the attention:
Mr. King, in the interview, said he was not a racist. He pointed to his Twitter timeline showing him greeting Iowans of all races and religions in his Washington office. (The same office once displayed a Confederate flag on his desk.)
At the same time, he said, he supports immigrants who enter the country legally and fully assimilate because what matters more than race is “the culture of America” based on values brought to the United States by whites from Europe.
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
Steve King said the quiet part out loud, to a national publication. Even though he meant every word and sentiment, he had to do the public dance of correcting himself, saying:
“Today, the New York Times is suggesting I am an advocate for white nationalism and white supremacy. I want to make one thing abundantly clear; I reject those labels and the evil ideology that they define.Further, I condemn anyone that supports this evil and bigoted ideology which saw in its ultimate expression the systematic murder of 6 million innocent Jewish lives.”
He goes on to say that he is not an advocate for “white nationalism and white supremacy. I want to make one thing abundantly clear: I reject those labels and the evil ideology they define.” Which is horsesh-t, because his New York Times interview was part of a familiar pattern, all part of the dance these white men do with their neo-Nazi supporters. They give an interview like this, showing their clear allegiance to white supremacists, then they issue a carefully worded half-denial. It’s all to throw red meat at their Nazi supporters. And make no f–king mistake, Steve King really doesn’t see what’s wrong with white supremacy. Donald Trump is the same. Stephen Miller is the same. Steve Bannon is the same. Mike Pence is the same. Ivanka Trump is the same.
My statement on the New York Times article. pic.twitter.com/IjBHgZYgRD
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) January 10, 2019
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Please, please, please don’t think all Iowans are like this. Progressive Democrats represent the other three districts.
This. I’m an Iowan and I don’t know one person who voted for this guy. Yet he somehow gets elected again and again. He is a horrible rep for Iowan values. We’re sorry, world.
Seconded. I grew up in Iowa, and while there are some terrible racists, homophobes and anti-Semites, the majority of people I knew were wonderful. My queer ass still gets a warm reception when I make it back to my hometown.
Iowa was on the forefront of the marriage equality movement.
Grew up in Iowa too and still have family there. In fact, one of my cousins lives in King’s district. They really thought they might get him out this year, but yeah, that didn’t happen. I asked my cousin yesterday how this guy keeps getting elected and he said it has a lot to do with King’s anti abortion stance. No abortions apparently trumps any racist crap that falls out of King’s mouth. UGH!!
I agree with the other Iowan comments, Iowa really isn’t horrible as King. There are lots of great people who aren’t racist. Unfortunately, pockets of them still exist though 🙁
In Iowa we have an awesome store called Raygun that has a t-shirt addressing this very issue :
https://www.raygunsite.com/products/steve-king
There’s one for Grassley, too 🙂
Thanks for the link! I moved out of the state DECADES ago, and still remember Grassley, Jim Leach, etc. They just never let go! At least let in some new republicans, guys! SHEESH.
This guy is he worst, I don’t understand how someone gets away with saying that sh*t and is still in a position to make decisions that effect so many people. This racist attitude is starting to become the norm for a lot of people, I’m seeing it more the last few years here in Canada too. I scrolled through my Facebook this morning and saw posts from two separate family friends who I’ve known and respected for many years, sharing false “facts” about immigration and crime. It’s downright sickening and it’s always the loudest people who are sharing and saying these awful things
I know, right? I honestly think I don’t want to live on the planet anymore. Too many awful, awful people.
It’s really been a mind blowing few years hasn’t it? And I will be Debbie downer here for a second. I feel like this is not going to change anytime soon. It seems this has become to new standard, to yell and throw tantrums and be and shove the environment aside because of money or whatever. I literally chose to not to have any more children because I’m so worried about the future and what kind of world our kids will be left. I have a six year old daughter and her father and I are constantly telling her about the things we think are important for her future, like respecting people of all kinds, colours, creeds, respecting the earth, the animals. And than she comes home from school saying her teacher told them that only boys and girls can get married, I live in Canada, gay marriage has been legal for so long. And she sees people on the news yelling at our prime minster because he’s trying to make rules to help the environment and reduce pollution, trying to help women be equal and immigrants. It’s like a constant battle.
More and more I feel like the film Idiocracy was prophetic. The only difference is in reality the dumbing down of humanity is going hand-in-hand with racism and bigotry.
Bryn and Debby, Yes to both of your comments. I don’t see it getting better anytime soon, either.
Bryn, I hope you called the teacher on that statement: unbelievable!
The racism was always here. Politicians like Steve King have been using racist dog whistles since the very first elections. Trump has empowered them to drop the dog whistles and speak plainly, but they are no more racist than they always were. As disheartening as it is to listen to racism, I would rather have it out in the open so I know who can no longer be in my life, where I will no longer be shopping, and what politicians I will actively be campaigning against.
I’m so done with conservatives trying to justify horrific racist sh*t like this.
Yes. And the New York Times needs to release the audio; I’m sure they have it. Put him on blast.
Dear Steve King,
If you truly rejected white supremacist ideology, you would understand why people were offended.
The viewpoints are offensive. The terms are just labels to identify those who hold the viewpoints, which is helpful. If you hold these viewpoints, please let us know by referring to yourself as a white supremacist. Big time saver. Thanks.
Yeah lol! For me, that’s the Confederate flag. I see you w that, thanks for letting me know you’re a racist POS.
People like this are revolting, but on the other hand I am glad he is expressing his disgusting views to the world. Then people will know who not to vote for in the next election and challenge their views.
It is the ones who make “dog whistle” statements to their racist base under the cover of “security or jobs” or ones like Stephen Miller who have a lot of influence behind the scenes that are the dangerous ones.
But he’s been expressing these same disgusting views for years and years, publicly and proudly – and his constituents keep electing him again and again. He has been in congress so long he has more seniority than two thirds of his peers. In the last election, the Republicans (to their credit) refused to finance his campaign and a lot of his agricultural PAC money evaporated, but he still won his election. If we can’t defeat the ones that don’t bother to hide, how in the hell are we going to defeat the ones smart enough to slink around in the shadows?
He tweeted this morning that Trump should declare a State of Emergency to build a concrete wall that would stand forever as a monument to the rule of law. If Trump did so, he would be breaking the law and concrete doesn’t last forever. He’s a moron. A racist, sexist, law-breaking moron.
They’ve priced maintenance and upkeep of a concrete wall (any wall, really) at $750 million A YEAR. That’s part of the reason Democrats don’t want it. It’s not a one time fee.
The Twitter responses he is getting are hilarious.
He said Mexico was going to pay. If Mexico isn’t paying, there’s no reason to proceed. Simple.
750mil a year. Guess who wants the contracts?
I’ll take a stab in the dark here but I’m willing to bet it’s offensive b/c white supremacists believe that being white makes them superior above all other races and all other races are totally expendable and not worthy of anything. Just a thought. Of course he doesn’t find it offensive. He’s white!
I don’t think he even know what supremacy means , he’s such an idiot. I bet he wouldn’t see a problem with people using the slogan white power either
“Of course he doesn’t find it offensive. He’s white!”
Omg, my Trump loving father in a nutshell. He told me that in all of his life, whoever was president never had any personal effect on him, so what Trump is doing doesn’t matter. No irony, no awareness. Gah.
I think white dudes have been told they’re right in every situation, to the point that they never developed the ability to self-reflect.
I can’t stand him or people like him. I’ve read comments like don’t be ashamed to be white! Wtf! I’m not ashamed to be white. I’m ashamed we have so much racism in our country. And I hate it when people say that wasnt rac,ism or they didnt mean it that way. If you werent there, how do you know? And really, how do you know what racism is if you’re white? Nowhere near the same! That day in 4th grade doesnt compare to what POC go through. I’m married to a mixed man and I’ve noticed a lot of subtle racism, like stares or dirty looks. One time, we were traveling and stopped at a rest stop to eat. I noticed this lady staring at my husband. She was staring so intently she didn’t notice me watching her. I feel so bad for my husband, the stuff that I’ve seen happen to him. He just mostly ignores it. I have a bad temper so i would get in fights if it was me. And he calms me down. But there’s that white privilege, i can get in a fight and it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. If my mixed 6 ft 2, 250 lb husband did, it would be a whole different ball game. I think that’s what us whites dont realize, that our everyday is not everyone else’s life. What we can get away w doing, others can’t.
I love when white people try to make it seem like things aren’t racist, when they usually don’t know anything about the experience of a person of colour. I’m white, and I’ll be the first one to say that I don’t know how it feels. I have a cousin who’s married to a man from the Sudan and things people have said to them is terrible. And these are usually “nice” people that just don’t seem to understand how racist they are. The comments usually start with “Don’t take this the wrong way” or “I’m not racist but…”
Thank you for saying this.
Lies! It is all about race and class. The people queuing at the southern border are (for the most part) Christians (Catholics) who speak a European language and are products of “Western Civilization”. They also happen to be brown, poor, and mostly indigenous. In what ways are Mexican or Guatemalan culture any less western than US culture? Spain was the pinnacle of western power when they were pillaging Mexico. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if he considers southern Europeans to be “lesser” Europeans. Our constitution borrows heavily from the Haudenosaunee system of government. Our pop culture is heavily reliant on the descendants of slaves. What is more American than mixing the old with the new? Whites pay lip service to Natives in America, supposedly admiring them, fetishizing their culture. But the way the indigenous at the border are talked about and treated shows how much they are still reviled, even when they assimilate.
This is what I’m talking about. Old educations, for many, have such a stronghold, it completely defines these idiots. They ignore progression or cherry-pick.
What is wrong with these morons? There’s zero evolution going on. Even my husband has development issues at times and grunts like a caveman. It’s insane. Who doesn’t want to learn knew ideas, concepts, philosophies, histories of other cultures? The internet has been AWESOME in that respect for me. I can’t digest quick enough, and then for frakking sake, I can’t recall on demand. I’ll be having a conversation, discuss fairly well then go blank with some definition or other and remember hours later. Or days. Aging sux in more ways than zero evolution.
Call his office if you truly give a shit! I did.
Steve King,
Jew, here – keep our name out of your mouth. You racists love to use Jewish people to disingenuously push your agendas. Quit it.
But he wasn’t shunned by Washington power brokers. This idea that King’s pre-Trump career suffered from his overt racism isn’t correct — Republican Party leadership weren’t bothered by his white supremacist views then either.
Can we organize a postcard writing campaign where we send several rounds of postcards noting “famous” white supremacists in history- and a short list that includes steve king and hitler and a few of their brethren and congratulate Iowans of continuing this legacy of evil and hate.
Like a postcard a week- maybe with some really offensive klan quotes.
People vote for him. People feel this way. Yet they do not recognize that this act qualifies them as racists, which qualifies them as bad people.
Being torn apart by wild dogs is not punishment enough for this piece of excrement.
I’m currently reading “Mad as Hell” by Rebecca Traister, and I think it’s amazing, and everyone should read it or listen to the audiobook. I was going to leave a comment about this guy, and how hopeless his bullshit makes me feel, but I’d rather amplify a work of incredible depth, intelligence, and sensitivity to intersectionality.
<3
Oh no… I wrote this comment just after I woke up from a rough sleep and before my first maté. The book is actually titled “Good and Mad,” and my bungling the title is not indicative of how compelling, insightful, and thoughtful it is. Sorry! Everyone should read it.
Yeah well I don’t get why this guy hasn’t been chased back into the racist hole he crawled out of, so there we are.