Watch GOP Rep. Steve King explode when asked about the Pittsburgh shooting
As Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) faced the press and members of the public at a forum on Thursday, it was only natural that his ties to far-right ideologies would come up. But when someone asked if he could distinguish his views from those of the suspected Tree of Life synagogue shooter, well, he downright exploded.
An attendee brought up the suspected Pittsburgh shooter's anti-Semitic views, tying it to how King once tweeted that "we can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."
King immediately fired back. "Do not associate me with that shooter," he demanded. The questioner then said he "was just about to ask what distinguishes" King from the shooter, but King cut him off, touting how he's "stood with Israel since the beginning" as an apparent explanation of his views. After snapping "stop it," King demanded the questioner be escorted from the room.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
King's views have earned condemnation from many conservatives, including the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and corporate donors have similarly pulled away. Regardless, King was evidently pleased with his performance on Thursday, seeing as he retweeted the video not long after the forum ended.
A recent poll shows King just one point above Democratic competitor J.D. Scholten, but FiveThirtyEight and Cook Political Report still put the race squarely in King's favor.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
