Hi there,

May 1 and 2 are Public Media Giving Days. With lies and disinformation flooding the media landscape, and the Trump administration increasing its attacks on journalists, the need for independent news questioning and challenging those in power is more critical now than ever. We do not take any government or corporate funding, so we can remain unwavering in our commitment to bring you fearless trustworthy reporting on the issues that matter most. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be DOUBLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $30. If our journalism is important to you, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!

Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Rep. King Erupts After Constituent Questions His Anti-Semitic Ties

HeadlineNov 02, 2018

Back in the United States, Iowa Republican Congressmember Steve King lashed out at a college student at a campaign event in Des Moines Thursday for asking about how King’s personal beliefs line up with those of the Pittsburgh shooter Robert Bowers.

Kaleb Van Fosson: “You and the shooter both share an ideology that is fundamentally anti-immigration—”

Rep. Steve King: “No. Don’t you do that. Do not associate me with that shooter. I knew you were an ambusher when you walked in the room.”

Kaleb Van Fosson: “I’m not an ambusher.”

Rep. Steve King: “But there’s no basis for that. And you get no questions, you get no answers.”

Kaleb Van Fosson: “I was about to ask you what distinguishes your ideology then.”

Rep. Steve King: “No, you’re done. We don’t play these game here in Iowa.”

Kaleb Van Fosson: “I was about to ask you what distinguishes your ideology.”

Rep. Steve King: “No, you’re done. You crossed the line. It’s not tolerable to accuse me to be associated with a guy that shot 11 people in Pittsburgh. I am a person who has stood with Israel from the beginning, and to the length of that nation is the length of my life.”

That was Iowa State University student Kaleb Van Fosson. He also tried to ask Congressmember King about his recent trip to Austria, where King met with an Austrian neo-Nazi group. King later told The Washington Post, “If they were in America pushing the platform that they push, they would be Republicans.”

Earlier this week, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee blasted King for his white supremacist ties, and corporate supporters of King, including Intel, Land O’Lakes and Purina PetCare, announced they would no longer fund his campaigns. King is up for re-election and is polling just one point ahead of Democratic opponent J.D. Scholten, in a district that Trump won in 2016 by a 27 percent margin.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top