House GOP leadership called out Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, Thursday evening for remarks published earlier in the day in which King asked when terms such as “white nationalist, white supremacist” became offensive.
In a statement, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., decried King’s remarks.
“Everything about white supremacy and white nationalism goes against who we are as a nation,” McCarthy said. “Steve’s language is reckless, wrong, and has no place in our society. The Declaration of Independence states that ‘all men are created equal.’ That is a fact. It is self-evident.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said that it was “offensive” that King would “try to legitimize” that kind of rhetoric, adding that white supremacy is “evil.” King had told the New York Times he wasn’t sure how terms such as “white nationalist, white supremacy, [and] Western civilization” became offensive language.
“I think it’s offensive to try to legitimize those terms,” Scalise told reporters in his office in the Capitol. “I think it’s important that he rejected that kind of evil, because that’s what it is: evil ideology.”
The Iowa Republican’s remarks were just the latest in a history of comments that Republicans have found offensive. Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, had chastised King as “completely inappropriate” for comments he made prior to the 2018 midterm elections.
Late Thursday, the National Republican Congressional Committee issued a short statement saying it would not get involved in King’s primary, suggesting House GOP leaders don’t have any plans to either help the congressman win re-election, or push him out.
“The NRCC does not get involved in primaries and we aren’t going to comment further on a hypothetical election two years away on the eighth day of the new Congress,” committee spokesman Bob Salera said.
On Wednesday, Randy Feenstra, an Iowa state senator, announced that he would launch a primary bid for King’s seat. When asked if House Republicans or the House GOP campaign arm should take sides against King, Scalise declined to say.
“Oh, I have no idea what’s happening in terms of primaries right now,” Scalise said.
David Drucker contributed to this report.
