'An unnecessary controversy': Rep. King says white nationalist comments were out of context

Steve King, the Iowa Republican who has been at the center of controversy for months, took the House floor on Friday to address criticism he's faced on statements he made about white nationalism and white supremacy in a New York Times article.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, yielded his time to King as the House debated the southern border wall funding impasse. King used the time to say he "made a freshman mistake" talking with a New York Times reporter without recording the interview.

"But one phrase in that long article has created an unnecessary controversy," King said. "That was my mistake."

The quote that King said sparked "heartburn" appeared in the article published Thursday about King's role in the U.S.-Mexico border wall discussion and President Donald Trump's immigration policy.

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“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King told the Times reporter. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

On the House floor, King said the quote was taken out of context. King argued he was saying terms like white supremacist, white nationalist and Nazi were "almost always unjustly labeling otherwise innocent people."

"It was about how those words got plugged into our dialogue, not when the words became offensive, which is what the technical interpretation of it is," King said. "It's how did that offensive language get injected into our political dialogue."

The 4th district representative also issued a news release Thursday denouncing white nationalism and white supremacy. However, that has not stopped the barrage of condemnations from Republicans and others over the controversial quote.

King told reporters that he wasn't told by Republican leadership that they were condemning his comments, but he also hasn't received signals that further punishment is coming.

Fellow Republican Sen. Tim Scott penned a scathing opinion piece for the Washington Post criticizing King's comments and arguing that Republicans can't be silent when it comes to bigotry. The South Carolina senator also told Fox news that King "should take a step back from the damage that he is doing to our country and frankly to our party."

Fellow conservatives have been condemning King for months, even prior to the 2018 midterm election where King narrowly beat Democrat challenger J.D. Scholten.

Last October, U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, disavowed King in a statement on Twitter. Three major U.S. companies also announced they will no longer donate campaign money to King.

Now, King faces two primary challengers, Iowa Sen. Randy Feenstra and Bret Richards.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 'An unnecessary controversy': Rep. King says white nationalist comments were out of context