In true form, Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who barely squeezed out a win in his latest reelection bid after he lost several corporate donors over his chumminess with neo-Nazis, has a burning question: Why is white supremacy offensive?

In a New York Times article on King’s penchant for spouting demonizing rhetoric about immigrants, King himself told the newspaper that he doesn’t understand when “that language” became “offensive.”

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King told the Times. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

King also told the Times that he’s not racist and said he believes immigrant assimilation is more important than race because he values the “culture of America,” which is “based on values brought to the United States by whites from Europe,” in the Times words.

The comments add to a long, running list of racist and offensive remarks made by the congressman throughout his political career.