--- title: Rep. Steve King Defends Controversial Tweet description: Rep. Steve King defended his widely condemned tweet about Geert Wilders in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo. canonical: https://time.com/4699397/rep-steve-king-twitter/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-13T14:24:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:48:21.151Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'I Meant Exactly What I Said.' Steve King Defends Tweet og:description: "I'd like to see an America that's so homogenous that we look a lot the same" og:url: https://time.com/4699397/rep-steve-king-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc59e95d85d0d309/6988be1d8fd2ee838d3561ea/steve-king1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican National Convention og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Meant Exactly What I Said.' Steve King Defends Tweet twitter:description: "I'd like to see an America that's so homogenous that we look a lot the same" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc59e95d85d0d309/6988be1d8fd2ee838d3561ea/steve-king1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Meant Exactly What I Said.' Rep. Steve King Stands by Controversial Tweet by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Mar 13, 2017 2:24 PM UTC  Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is interviewed on the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena on first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 18, 2016. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is interviewed on the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena on first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 18, 2016.Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Mar 13, 2017 2:24 PM UTC Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) defended his widely condemned tweet in support of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders during an appearance on CNN. On Sunday, King [tweeted praise](http://time.com/4699168/steve-king-supports-dutch-politician/) for Wilders, saying he “understands that culture and demographics are our destine. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.” Critics swiftly condemned the comment for promoting white nationalistic ideals. But when speaking with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, King, who has a [history](http://time.com/4411953/steve-king-subgroup-whites/) of making racially provocative statements, [said](http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/03/13/steve-king-babies-tweet-intv-newday.cnn) he “meant exactly what I said.” “I’d like to see an America that’s so homogenous that we look a lot the same,” King added. > [](https://twitter.com/SteveKingIA/status/840980755236999169) When pressed by Cuomo about whether he believes “a Muslim American, an Italian American, a Jewish American” are all equal, King, who said he was a “champion for western civilization,” paused. “It’s not that simple,” he said. “They contribute differently to our culture and civilization.” He continued: “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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4699397/rep-steve-king-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4699397/rep-steve-king-twitter/"},"headline":"'I Meant Exactly What I Said.' Rep. 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