Last week, Adam Rubenstein visited Iowa to report on Steve King’s re-election effort. He filed several pieces from there, including one that reported on comments King made before a small meeting with voters in Webster City. The headline of that article was: “Did Steve King Just Refer to Immigrants as ‘Dirt?’” In the story, Adam reported on a jocular exchange King had with a supporter, in which King says that if he wants to grow spicy jalapenos, he’ll have to import dirt from Mexico. When King laughs at his comment, an attendee interjects, saying the dirt from Mexico is already “on the way.” King agrees, saying, “there’s plenty of dirt” coming from Mexico, the West Coast and other places, too. “This is the most dirt we’ve ever seen.” Adam transcribed and printed the entire exchange as part of his article.

King wasn’t happy. His son, Jeff, who also serves as his campaign manager, called and insisted that his father had been misquoted, and accused Adam of fabrication. I told him that his father was quoted accurately and explained that while we would not be emailing him the recording, we reserved the right to post the audio.