Controversial Republican congressman Steve King claimed Wednesday that 'there would be any population of the world left' if not for rape and incest, as he pitched legislation to outlaw all abortions.

King told a conservative crowd at an event in a suburb of Des Moines, 'What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest?

'Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can't certify that I was not a part of a product of that,' he stated at the Iowa event.

The Des Moines Register reports that the Republican added, 'It's not the baby's fault for the sin of the father, or of the mother.'

I might be the result of rape or incest: 'Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can't say that I was not a part of a product of that,' Republican congressman Steve King said

Collision course: Steve King was speaking out against abortion in any circumstance, putting him on a glide path to anger from pro-choice campaigners

GOP leader Liz Cheney was one of the few Republicans to speak out against King in the immediate aftermath of his remarks

His comments were quickly condemned by Democrat J.D Scholten, who's vying for his seat in the House of Representatives

The White House did not immediately provide a comment on the latest scandal to hit the Republican who's continued to seek reelection.

His comments were quickly condemned by Democrat J.D. Scholten, who's vying for his seat in the House of Representatives, presidential candidates campaigning in Iowa and the House Republican Conference chairwoman.

Appearing on CNN, Kamala Harris burst into laughter after a clip of King making the offending remarks and then speculating that he's likely a product of rape and incest played out.

'These guys are just out of their minds. Like, what is that?' she said of King, Donald Trump and the Republicans' rhetoric. 'What is going on with these people?'

King's remarks are the latest in a long line of controversies which have made the Republican a virtual outcast from his own party.

He announced in February that he would seek a 10th term, in spite of comments he made on 'white nationalism' that he claims were taken out of context.

'I am running in 2020,' he said at the time and added that: 'I have nothing to apologize for.'

Trump will be on top of the ticket in the upcoming election, and it's unclear what kind of help he'll give King, who must first defeat three Republican primary challengers to win the nomination.

If he does, he will run against Scholten, an attorney, who played baseball in college and pursued a professional career.

He outspent King four-to-one last cycle but the longtime Republican congressman, who was then close to President Trump, prevailed in their match-up.

Scholten rebuked King on Wednesday on Twitter, telling him, 'Words have consequences.'





He turned the gaffe as an opportunity to generate money for his latest congressional campaign.





'To answer[King's] question, yes,' he said of the plausibility of births outside of rape and incest. 'Our congressman continues to push his selfish agenda above the needs of #IA04 -- this time he excuses violence. This isn’t what we stand for. Help us spread our message of positive change.'

Nearly every 2020 presidential candidate followed suit, lambasting King and fishing for contributions for Scholten.

'All IA-04 constituents—including women—deserve a leader who will fight for them. Donate to JD Scholten to help make that happen,' said New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who linked to a page documenting her own contribution.

Julian Castro said that 'Steve King has no place in Congress. Time and time again, he has embarrassed himself and denigrated his office' and pledged to help elect Scholten.

'I’m ready for another Winnebago road trip—it’s time to unseat this bigot,' said the former Housing and Urban Development secretary said.

Harris also promoted Scholten's candidacy, saying, 'Rape apologists have no place in Congress. Iowans deserve better than Steve King. Donate now to his opponent.'

Elizabeth Warren backed Scholten and said King's comment is a 'disgusting attack' sexual assault victims and the Iowa congressman 'must resign.'

Iowa Democratic Representative Abby Finkenauer said in a tweet that King is an 'embarrassment' to all of Iowa and the state's Washington delegation.

'This is incredibly cruel & disrespectful to survivors. Steve King & his values, his rhetoric, & his disdain for decency is a far cry from the Iowa I know. He doesn’t represent who we are & he continues to be an embarrassment to our state & federal delegation,' she tweeted.

GOP leader Liz Cheney was one of the few Republicans to speak out against King in the immediate aftermath of his remarks.

'Today’s comments by [Steve King] are appalling and bizarre. As I’ve said before, it’s time for him to go. The people of Iowa’s 4th congressional district deserve better,' she said.

Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, also condemned King.

In an interview on 'Special Report' on Fox News, he said, 'I have a great deal of problems with that. This isn’t the first time I’ve had concerns of what Steve King has said. Earlier in this Congress, there are things that Steve King said that I do not believe the party of Lincoln would stand for.

'We actually removed Steve King from his committees inside Congress, and I think this just continues to show why that action was taken,' he said.

Donald Trump had been tweeting about a stock market plunge, but remained silent on King's statement as Wednesday wore on. His White House did provide a comment, in response to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.

Iowa will be a must-stop in the presidential campaign race but King wasn't allowed to travel on Air Force One with the president earlier this year when Trump traveled to Iowa for a party fundraiser, CNN reported at the time.

King was widely condemned by politicians from both parties following comments that appeared in a January New York Times article.

His words were condemned on the House floor. Republicans also removed him from all his committee assignments, which rendered him essentially powerless in Congress.

King joined in supporting the House-passed motion of disapproval following his comments. It passed 424 to 1.

'White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?' King was quoted as saying in The Times.

The congressman claimed the Times purposely misquoted him and demanded, unsuccessfully, any records the newspaper has of his remarks.

King claims he took a lengthy pause before he said 'Western civilization' – meaning that he was defending only that phrase.

His office has circulated the results of news archive searches showing he had never been quoted uttering the phrases 'white nationalism,' 'white nationalist,' 'white supremacist' or 'white supremacy' before, claiming he was repeating language an aggressive Times reporter fed to him.

Steve King was removed from his committee assignments after the comments and he voted for a resolution condemning himself

Democrat J.D. Scholten who is running against King condemned his remarks

He went along with a resolution condemning the remarks when it came to a vote before the full House, avoiding a formal censure from his colleagues.

In October 2018, King was put in the position of defending his association with a far-right, Nazi-linked group in Austria.

King said, 'So I want to ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle let's vote for this resolution. I'm putting up a yes on the board here because what you say is true, is right and is just.'

It wasn't the first time King came under fire for statements with racial undertones.

In October 2018, King was put in the position of having to defend his association with a far-right, Nazi-linked group in Austria.

'If they were in America pushing the platform that they push, they would be Republicans,' King told The Washington Post.

He was referring to Austria’s Freedom Party, a group founded by a former Nazi SS officer and whose current leader was active in neo-Nazi circles.