Rep. Steve King wonders aloud on national television what contributions non-whites have made throughout history


Don't expect to see Iowa Rep. Steve King (R) leading the Republican Party's minority outreach any time soon.
During an appearance Monday afternoon on MSNBC, Charles Pierce, writer-at-large for Esquire, said while discussing the Republican National Convention that if "you're really optimistic, you could say this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican Party's attention, its platform, its public face." King responded by saying, "This whole 'white people' business, though, does get a little tired, Charlie. I mean, I'd ask you to go back through history and figure out, where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you're talking about? Where did any other sub-group of people contribute more to civilization?"
After being pressed by an incredulous Chris Hayes if he was really talking about white people, King backed off, and said he meant "western civilization." Watch the video below to find out how King attempted to get out of this one. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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