Story highlights The Iowa congressman said his comments are 'exactly on target and most of the public agrees with me on it'

He also reversed his position on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Washington (CNN) Republican Rep. Steve King is standing by comments he made last week in which he said President Barack Obama is partly to blame for the divided political climate that he argues led to the shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others on a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia.

"Erin, the answer is no," the Iowa lawmaker said when asked by CNN's Erin Burnett on Wednesday if he regrets blaming the former President in an interview with Simon Conway on WHO Iowa radio June 14.

"I do want to put some of this at the feet of Barack Obama," King said in the radio interview. "He contributed mightily to dividing us. He focused on our differences rather than our things that unify us. And this is some of the fruits of that labor."

King gave context to the statement on "OutFront," saying he made some of the remarks that were published in articles "on site, on location, near the ballfield shortly after I learned of the shooting."

"But I am not going to excuse any of that away," he said. "In fact, those statements were supported by the facts that later poured out."

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