Steve King’s Anti-Immigrant Comments Aren’t New. But His Support in The White House Is.

Rep. Steve King  has been widely condemned this week after tweeting on Sunday that “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” Some Republicans, including the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan, rebuked the congressman. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights leader, called the tweet “racist.”

But King had a few supporters ― former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, for example, was happy with his comments ― and he didn’t apologize. Instead, he defended his stance, tweeting on Monday a riff on President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan: “Let’s Make Western Civilization Great Again!” 

This was not terribly surprising, as King has been making similar arguments — and attracting support from white nationalists — for years.

The only difference is that there are now people in the White House who share some of his views. Trump, White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, policy advisers Steve Miller and Sebastian Gorka and national security official Michael Anton have echoed King’s apocalyptic anti-immigration arguments, and they’re advancing policies for which he has long advocated. Neither King’s office nor the White House responded to requests for comment.