Brian C. Frank/Reuters
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) on Monday morning refused to say that Muslim Americans are equal to German Americans in their usefulness to society—effectively quadrupling-down on his previous comments that white people have made greater contributions to Western civilization than other “sub-groups.” King appeared on CNN specifically to discuss his Sunday afternoon tweet about a far-right Dutch candidate whose anti-Muslim tweet showed that he “understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” Asked by host Chris Cuomo to explain his remarks suggesting we only want babies from white Americans, King claimed he was not suggesting racial supremacy, but rather “promoting the birth rate in America, restoring the rule of law, putting an end to illegal immigration, and recognizing we need to be a country that’s pulled together on similar values.” However, when asked whether Muslim citizens are equal to white ones, King repeatedly hesitated before explaining: “I’d say they’re all created in the image of God and they’re equal in his eyes. If they’re citizens of the United States, they’re equal in the eyes of the law. Individuals will contribute differently, not equally to this civilization and society. Certain groups of people will do more from a productive side than other groups of people will.” King did, however, claim that he’d like to see “intermarriage” result in a more “homogenous” America a few centuries or generations down the line.