If you thought this week’s racist rant by GOP Congressman Steve King makes him an outlier inside of the Republican Party, think again. In fact, the party now appears to be embracing King, along with his David Duke-approved white supremacy.
According to King himself, he’s gotten nothing but positive feedback from GOP colleagues since his comments earlier in the week in which he said, “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”
Tweet via The Hill reporter Cristina Marcos:
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) tells me fellow GOP colleagues have “generally been coming by & patting me on the back” since they all returned to DC
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— Cristina Marcos (@cimarcos) March 16, 2017
The next time your Republican friends claim that white nationalists don’t represent any part of the GOP, remember that Steve King – who shouldn’t even have a seat in Congress at this point – is now being embraced by his fellow GOP colleagues after tweeting (and later defending) this:
Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies. https://t.co/4nxLipafWO
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) March 12, 2017
While it’s still a stretch to say that King is speaking for the majority of Republicans, it’s undeniable that his worldview is becoming more and more accepted in Republican circles. In fact, it’s part of why Donald Trump is even sitting in the White House today.
Trump’s campaign was fueled by bigotry and minority resentment, often painting minorities and immigrants as the enemy and lashing out at America’s changing demography. All of this won the support of white supremacists like David Duke and allowed folks like Steve King to proudly spew their racism on a daily basis without any real repercussions.
This is the Republican Party under Donald Trump, and 2018 can’t come soon enough.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
