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.
Subscribe to 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.
-
Ukraine: Trump's mixed messages
Feature Trump reverses a Pentagon freeze on Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russia ramps up air attacks
-
Diddy: An abuser who escaped justice?
Feature The jury cleared Sean Combs of major charges but found him guilty of lesser offenses
-
Death from above: Drones upend rules of war in Ukraine
Feature The world's militaries are paying close attention to drone use in the Russia-Ukraine war
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders
speed 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 bail
Speed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack