Don’t expect an apology from Rep. Steve King (R-IA) anytime soon — in fact, he thinks he is owed one.
After receiving backlash for his remarks last week when he wondered aloud if there’d any population left without rape and incest, King continued to stand his ground Saturday at a town hall when he blamed the controversy on a misquote, according to Des Moines-based station WHO-TV.
King specifically took aim at the Des Moines Register, which broke the news of his derisive remark, and the Associated Press for its reporting on it.
“Iowans are significantly more positive than they are negative, and they know it’s a misquote, and they know that the AP has, I’ll say, retracted the quote that they initially used because they relied on the Des Moines Register, who did the same,” King said, according to WHO-TV.
King then demanded that the media and the Republican leaders who criticized him for his remark apologize.
“And so, when we have a national, viral attack that comes out on a misquote, and it’s absolutely proven, all the folks that did that attack, I think they owe me an apology, including my own leadership,” King said.
The Washington Post noted that The Des Moines Register corrected another quote that it ran on King’s remarks, but that his rape and incest remarks were reported accurately.
Shortly after King made his disturbing remarks Wednesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) called on the congressman to resign, a move that would be detrimental to Democrats hoping to flip the seat. King’s rich history of making controversial comments already got him kicked off his committee assignments in the House earlier this year.
MSNBC had trouble last Thursday trying to find someone in King’s home district to defend his latest remarks.
