Steve King's Wild Comments About Abortion & Incest Have People Screaming, "WTF?"

Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers removed Iowa Rep. Steve King from his committee assignments after public comments about white supremacy. However, that did not seem to stop King from continuing to make outrageous remarks. On Aug. 14, King's latest comments about abortion, rape, and incest prompted an uproar from Twitter users who have demanded his resignation. Elite Daily reached out to King's office for comment on his remarks and the backlash, but did not immediately hear back.

During an appearance at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, on Aug. 14, King argued that anti-abortion legislation should not include any exceptions for rape or incest, The New York Times reported, even appearing to suggest that the crimes had had a positive effect on population.

“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled those people out that were products of rape or incest?" King asked rhetorically. "Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?"

King then claimed that rape and incest had been necessary for humanity to continue, prompting swift backlash from Democrats and Republicans alike. "Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that’s taken place, and whatever happened to culture after society, I know that I can’t certify that I’m not a product of that," King said. "And I’d like to think every one of the lives of us are as precious as any other life.”

Unsurprisingly, a lot of people were not at all happy about King's remarks, and many took to social media to comment on them. The general refrain seemed to be, "WTF?"

Many, including Democrats running for president, called on King to resign, or expressed hope that he would not be reelected.

And just in case anyone was wondering, author Stephen King wants to make something crystal clear:

Democratic presidential candidates were not the only prominent politicians to speak out against Rep. King. According to NBC News, the three highest-ranking Republicans in the House — House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — all criticized King's remarks, and Cheney called on him to resign. Elite Daily has reached out to King for comment on these calls for his resignation.

In addition to condemning King, many of the Democratic presidential candidates called on voters to support his opponent, J.D. Scholten. For the second time, Scholten is running to unseat King in Iowa's 4th Congressional District. According to Vox, Scholten — a former baseball player — narrowly lost his 2018 bid to defeat King, but he might be able to pull off a victory in 2020.

This is certainly not the first time that King has come under fire for offensive remarks, however. In January 2019, King questioned whether white supremacy was offensive in an interview with The New York Times. “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King said in the interview. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” His comments drew — again — enormous backlash, and King later released a public statement saying he was not an advocate of white supremacy. "I want to make one thing abundantly clear: I reject those labels and the evil ideology they define,” he wrote. Nevertheless, he was removed from assignments to the House Judiciary and Agriculture Committees over the remarks and the backlash. Top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that King should pursue "another line of work."

Although King was stripped of his committee assignments, he still remains in Congress — though that could change in 2020, if Scholten succeeds in his renewed efforts to unseat the long-time incumbent. Clearly, King seems to be his own worst enemy.