Rep. Steve King claimed Thursday he was told by a Federal Emergency Management Agency official that victims of Hurricane Katrina only asked for help, unlike Iowa residents who “take care of each other” instead of waiting for assistance.
The controversial Republican congressman made the comments while speaking to constituents in his home state, which has experienced historic flooding this week.
“Here’s what FEMA tells me. We go to a place like New Orleans, and everybody’s looking around saying, ‘Who’s going to help me? Who’s going to help me?’ We go to a place like Iowa and … they’re just always gratified when they come and see how Iowans take care of each other,” King said.
A spokeswoman for FEMA called King’s description of an agency official’s comments “inaccurate.”
“All disasters are unique and our mission remains true that we are here to help all people before, during, and after disasters,” Lizzie Litzow said in a statement.
King said he visited New Orleans, a predominantly black city, four times in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane that caused devastating damage.
Though he didn’t directly cite race while speaking in Iowa, King has faced growing criticism over his comments invoking race and accusations of being a white supremacist.
At another event with constituents this week, he declined to give a definitive answer on whether white societies are “superior” to nonwhite societies.
“I don’t have an answer for that. That’s so hypothetical,” King said. “I’ll say this, America is not a white society — it has never been a completely white society. We came here and joined the Native Americans.”
He was removed from his committee assignments earlier this year after he questioned why the phrase “white supremacy” had become offensive. King insisted his comments had been taken out of context.
