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.

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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.