The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is calling for Paul Ryan to denounce Rep. Steve King’s "shockingly offensive statement that seemed to bolster white supremacy."
“Speaker Ryan and House Republicans need to denounce Steve King’s outrageous statements immediately,” said DCCC Spokesman Jermaine House. “Their silence in the face of blatant racism serves as further proof that Paul Ryan and House Republicans are perfectly aligned with Donald Trump’s racially insensitive agenda. Congressman King’s comments, followed by total silence from House Republicans, continue to make the Republican Party toxic to people of color.”
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King's remarks were made during MSNBC show "All In With Chris Hayes." What did the Republican from Iowa say?
"This whole white people business, though, does get a little tired," Congressman King began.
"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 are talking about. Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?" King stated.
The Iowa Republican has been known for controversial statements in the past that were directed towards Hispanic Americans.
One African-American guest on Hayes' show called his latest comments an "atom bomb."
April Ryan, American Urban Radio Networks White House Correspondent, was on the panel sitting right next to Hayes and Rep. King. as the conversation unfolded. Ryan, the author of "The Presidency in Black and White, My Up-Close View on Three Presidents and Race in America," was quite disturbed.
"It's sad in this day and time that we have people who feel comfortable to say these kinds of things. Period. Worse: an insult to have a Black woman, no matter what my station, sitting one person away from him—to say it with no thought of the impact his word would have.
"I talked to some congressional leaders who saw it and they say he's not the only one who speaks that way. So after the show Chris Hayes and I had a chance to talk. And Hayes believed that the vast majority of Americans believed that what King said was false. But I said to Chris, we can't take for granted that what everyone says is understood to be wrong—and that's why we both realized there should have been a rebuttal," Ryan told NBCBLK about the King interview.
