GOP Rep. Steve King says getting censured by the House gave him 'better insight' into what Jesus 'went through for us'

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) told a town hall audience in Cherokee, Iowa, on Tuesday that being censured by his colleagues in the House for making racist remarks gave him "better insight" into what Jesus Christ "went through for us."

King, who is Catholic, didn't just come right out and compare himself to Jesus — The Sioux City Journal reports he was responding to an audience member, Rev. Pinky Person, who told King she believes Christians are being persecuted in the United States.

King has a long history of making inflammatory statements, and earlier this year, he was removed from all congressional committee assignments after asking during a New York Times interview when the terms "white nationalist," "white supremacist," and "Western civilization" became "offensive." The House voted 421-1 to rebuke King, and he referred to his colleagues on Tuesday night as his "accusers." He doesn't want anyone to worry about him, though; King told the audience he's "at a certain peace, and it is because of a lot of prayers for me."

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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.