Rep. Steve King wants the media to apologize for reporting he said rape and incest were necessary - even though he claimed there would be 'no population' without them
- Republican Rep. Steve King said the media and Republican leaders owe him an apology for their remarks after he suggested that there would be "no population" without rape and incest.
- King was arguing in favor of an abortion ban with no exceptions for pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest when he made the comment at an Iowa event last week.
- King took aim at the Des Moines Register and the Associated Press, saying the stories were based on a misquote. Though the Des Moines Register corrected a quote from King in their article about the event, his comment on incest and rape was reported accurately, based on video of the event.
- "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," he said.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Rep. Steve King said he wants an apology from the media and Republican leaders for saying he suggested that there would be no population without rape and incest, even though he was filmed making the comment at an Iowa event.
King, who is anti-abortion, had made his comments while speaking to the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, last week. He was arguing in favor of an abortion ban with no exceptions for pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest.
"What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled those people out that were products of rape and incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?" King said. "Considering all the wars and all the rape and pillage that's taken place, and whatever happened to culture after society, I know that I can't certify that I'm not part of a product of that."
After his comments were reported on by local and national media, King took aim at the Des Moines Register and the Associated Press, saying the stories were based on a misquote.
"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 Des Moines-based station WHO-TV.
He added: "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."
The Des Moines Register did correct a quote from King in their article about the event, but the correction was not related to the specific comments he made about incest and rape. Those comments were reported accurately, based on video of the event.
Following his remarks, Republican House leaders condemned King's remarks, and at least one called for him to resign.
- Read more:
- Pressure grows on GOP Rep. Steve King to resign after he asked if there would be 'any population left' without pregnancies from rape and incest
- Rep. Steve King questioned whether there would be 'any population left' without pregnancies from rape and incest
- A GOP congressman punished for making racist remarks slams his fellow Republicans for subjecting him to a 'political lynch mob'
- Rep. Steve King says being condemned by Congress for his racist remarks was like Jesus Christ's suffering