William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

U.S. Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican who has a penchant for controversy, created an uproar on social media Monday by questioning the contributions of non-white people during a cable television appearance at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Appearing on an MSNBC panel led by Chris Hayes, King and others discussed the start of the GOP's big event, which is expected to result in the party's nomination of Donald Trump for president. But Charles Pierce of Esquire magazine observed that the predominately white Republican gathering was hardly a celebration of diversity.

"If you're really optimistic, you can say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican Party's attention, its platform, its public face," Pierce said. "That hall is wired by loud, unhappy, dissatisfied white people."

King offered a dissenting view.

"This 'old white people' business does get a little tired, Charlie," King said. "I'd ask you to go back through history and figure out, where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you're talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"

Hayes asked: "Than white people?"

"Than, than Western civilization itself," King said. "It's rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the United States of America and every place where the footprint of Christianity settled the world. That's all of Western civilization."

King asks: What have minorities contributed to civilization?

King's remarks resulted in other panelists entering the fray.

Journalist April Ryan, who is black, queried King: "What about Asia? What about Africa?"

Hayes tried to regain order on the panel. "We're not going to argue the history of Western civilization," he said. "Let me note for the record that if you're looking at the ledger of Western civilization, for every flourishing democracy, you have Hitler and Stalin as well."

Steve King says he's defending white men from liberal attacks

King's comments drew a flurry of harsh criticism on social media. On Twitter, some people tweeted that King's remarks represented a white supremacist view while others simply called them racist. Meanwhile, MSNBC tweeted that King's statement was "jaw-dropping" and Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party's presidential candidate, called upon Republicans to "leave this shameful party."

State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, who is black and a Muslim, said King's remarks were "asinine" and displayed an ignorance of history and a lack of sensitivity for race relations. He suggested King lacked knowledge about the contributions of African-Americans and slaves, Chinese people who helped to build American railroads, and of women. "Let’s talk about the contributions of Africa that actually brought Europe out of the Dark Ages," he added. People need to stand up for what matters, and they should quit making inappropriate statements that are dividing the country and the world, Abdul-Samad said, suggesting that King should be part of the conversation.

King defends his comments on 'Western Civilization':

Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire remarked that racism, which was once considered extreme in the Republican Party, has now been normalized by the presidential ticket of Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

"Donald Trump built his candidacy on hate speech, division and anti-immigration rhetoric. Rep. Steve King is merely following Trump's lead with his latest blatantly racist comments," McGuirre said. "Iowa Republicans, including Sen (Chuck). Grassley, cannot continue to condone the current Republican message of hate by blasting political correctness. Steve King's comments and Donald Trump's candidacy are not simply 'politically incorrect'. They are divisive and extremely dangerous for our country."

Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann didn't immediately respond Monday night to a request for comment through a party spokesman.

King, who represents northwest Iowa's 4th Congressional District, was criticized in June by U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, an Iowa Democrat, who said he is an "embarrassment to Iowa" because of a history of "racist and sexist comments."

More coverage from the RNC:

Loebsack was responding to King's introduction of an amendment in the U.S. House that would have prevented Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist and supporter of women's suffrage, from replacing President Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill. The House Rules Committee agreed to deny floor consideration of the proposal, which would have prevented the Treasury Department from spending money to redesign paper currency or coins.

Just last week, King again attracted controversy for having a Confederate flag among a group of small historical flags on his desk.

However, King overwhelmingly fended off a Republican primary challenge in June from state Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City, and he is a heavy favorite for re-election in November against Democratic challenger Kim Weaver. The 4th District is Iowa's most heavily Republican and most rural congressional district.

A history of King's controversial moments: