Republican Congressman Blasted for Tweet That Appears to Support White Nationalism

Rep. Steve King tweeted an endorsement of white nationalism, writing: "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

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Rep. Steve King is still a cheerleader for racist rhetoric.

The Iowa Republican faced a wave of backlash Sunday after he expressed his support for Geert Wilders, a Dutch prime minister candidate who is widely known as an anti-Islam crusader. The far-right politician has vowed to stop Muslim immigration, shut down mosques, and ban the Quran from the Netherlands.

“Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny,” King tweeted. “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

Critics immediately called out King for appearing to support racism and xenophobia.

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But his tweet did garner praise from some Americans, such as former KKK grand wizard David Duke.

The tweet quoted to a post by Voice of Europe, an anti-European Union organization that describes itself as: “Real news from a beautiful continent in danger.” The original tweet included a cartoon of Wilders standing in front of a crumbling wall that read “Western Civilization”; bearded protesters are seen in the background with knives, bombs, and signs that read, “Infidels, Know Your Limits” and “Freedom of Speech Go To Hell.”

This isn’t the first time King has been accused of supporting white nationalism. In 2016, the congressman participated in a panel discussion on MSNBC, where he questioned racial minorities’ contributions to Western civilization: “I'd 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're talking about?,” he asked. “Where did any other sub-group of people contribute more to civilization?"

King has also been criticized for his remarks about Mexican immigrants, his opposition to putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, and, most recently, his support of Donald Trump’s baseless wiretapping claims.

 

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