Rep. Steve King says 'our civilization' can't be restored 'with somebody else's babies'

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) spent part of his Sunday praising a far-right Dutch politician on Twitter and declaring that "we can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."

Geert Wilders is the leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom, has been accused of inciting hatred against Muslims, and apparently has a fan in King. "Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny," King tweeted. "We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." King's comment appeared with a cartoon showing Wilders standing in front of a wall that reads "Western Civilization" and using his finger to plug a hole in it, with protesters behind him holding signs that say "Infidels, know your limits."

King quickly heard about the tweet from Democrats, Republicans, journalists, and white supremacists. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), the son of Cuban immigrants, responded directly to King, asking him, "What exactly do you mean? Do I qualify as 'somebody else's baby?' #concernedGOPcolleague." Democrat Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, called King a "total ignoramus," and said "no one takes him seriously." Even NBC's Tom Brokaw joined the conversation, pointing out that "somebody else's babies" are wearing U.S. military uniforms and volunteering to protect the country. "Cong. King, please!" he added. King did get two thumbs up from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who tweeted, "GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!!"

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King often makes statements that cause people to question if their hearing is going — he has claimed to be as "Hispanic and Latino" as former HUD secretary Julian Castro, wondered on national television what contributions have been made by non-whites over the course of history, and once asked a black journalist if she had the "right" to call him a "racist" because she has "more melanin."