Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King on Sunday tweeted a message in support of Dutch nationalist politician Geert Wilders that included a concern that the children of recent immigrants can’t “restore our civilization.”
That message drew massive backlash from liberals and even a few Republicans.
“Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” King tweeted.
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
Wilders is a dark horse candidate for the Dutch presidency and has campaigned on the promise of “de-Islamizing” the Netherlands. He believes Islam is incompatible with western civilization.
Critics of King’s tweet accused it of being an endorsement of racism, Nazism and even genocide.
@SteveKingIA nazi scumbag
— MKupperman (@MKupperman) March 12, 2017
@SteveKingIA You, Congressman, are simply a bigot. Good thing is, I know a lot of smart Dems eyeing your seat.
— Peter Brack (@peterbrack) March 12, 2017
@JordanUhl @oppstn Genocide is in the wind. Even the Nazis were not this blatant in Hitler’s first 6 years in power.
— PWM (William) (@PWM62) March 12, 2017
mmm that great white supremacist taste https://t.co/tn7PXOzXfU
— Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) March 12, 2017
Rep. Steve King is not under fire. He is a racist. The Devil lives in flames. pic.twitter.com/j8HXXOXxKi
— Terrell J. Starr (@Russian_Starr) March 12, 2017
GOP Congressman @SteveKingIA promotes the un-American ideas of white nationalism. Will any Republican congressmen condemn his bigotry? https://t.co/5etQ8fwZx2
— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) March 12, 2017
The liberal outlet Slate declared King’s tweet is “an apparent, explicit call to protect white ‘culture and demographics’ from immigrants. It’s the type of rhetoric that you might find at a Klan rally.”
At least one fellow Republican lawmaker has criticized King’s comment. Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who is Cuban-American, wondered if he counted as “someone else’s baby” in a reply to the Iowa congressman’s tweet.
.@SteveKingIA What exactly do you mean? Do I qualify as “somebody else’s baby?” #concernedGOPcolleague
— Carlos Curbelo (@carloslcurbelo) March 13, 2017
King is a well-known immigration hawk who has been criticized in the past for his remarks on the subject. During an MSNBC panel last July, the lawmaker was called a racist for pushing back against a fellow panelist’s joy that “old white people” are going away and arguing for the greatness of western civilization. (RELATED: Media Paints Steve King As Racist For Defending Western Civilization)
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