AP
- Republican Rep. Steve King spoke out against multiculturalism and diversity in tweets on Friday, saying that diversity is not “our American strength.”
- His remarks drew backlash on social media. Iowa’s Democratic Party called on the state’s governor to remove him from her campaign committee.
- This is not the first time King has made controversial comments about immigration and American culture.
Iowa Rep. Steve King is no fan of multiculturalism. On Friday, the Republican congressman took to Twitter to reject the idea that diversity is good for American society.
“Assimilation has become a dirty word to the multiculturalist Left. Assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength,” King said.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/939117983334649856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Assimilation has become a dirty word to the multiculturalist Left. Assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength.
In another tweet, King quoted Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, an outspoken critic of allowing Middle Eastern refugees into Hungary.
“Diversity is not our strength. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, ‘Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one,'” King tweeted.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/939117527375990790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Diversity is not our strength. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one.” https://t.co/ZlMXzcc87w
King’s tweets drew immediate backlash from people on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/939526835439796225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Assimilation and diversity are not mutually exclusive. Actually, they are complementary. @SteveKingIA, I’d love for you to come spend Christmas with my family so you can see how this works. THREAD: https://t.co/RxbFtqv0Qw
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/939205129919696897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
My family’s diversity is OUR strength. We don’t harbor hate, racism and bigotry like people of your ilk do. If you support the beliefs of the Hungarian PM, go work for him then. You don’t belong in American government. pic.twitter.com/acgCxdkMVa
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/939202682497241090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Diversity isn’t *a* strength, Steve King. It is our greatest strength. It gives us an advantage over other countries.
Even the Democratic Party of Iowa chimed in, calling on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to remove King from her campaign staff.
“Governor Reynolds needs to do the right thing for the people of Iowa and immediately remove Steve King from her campaign committee,” the tweet said.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/939244374277443590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Governor Reynolds needs to do the right thing for the people of Iowa and immediately remove Steve King from her campaign committee #IApolitics https://t.co/K9olXdDEm2
This is not the first time King, who has represented Iowa’s 4th district since 2003, has generated backlash for controversial tweets. In March, King tweeted support for far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
“Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny,” King said. “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”
In 2013, King took issue with the idea that Mexican immigrants benefitted the US on the whole during an interview on Fox News, arguing that “for every one who’s a valedictorian, there’s another hundred out there who weigh 130 pounds, and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”
Orban, an early support of President Donald Trump, has repeatedly attacked what he sees as the European Union’s pro-refugee position, and he aligns himself with Trump’s “America First” rhetoric.
“This is a great thing, a great freedom and a great gift,” Orban said of Trump’s immigration stance shortly after the US president’s inauguration in January.
Orban and his party are also behind a propaganda campaign in Hungary to smear billionaire George Soros. He has dubbed efforts to settle refugees within the EU block the “Soros plan” and paid for billboards across the country attacking Soros.
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