Dem blasts Rep. King’s 'somebody else’s babies' comments on House floor

The Hill 

By Cristina Marcos

March 15, 2017

Dem blasts Rep. King’s 'somebody else’s babies' comments on House floor 

A House Democrat called out Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on the floor on Wednesday for his controversial comments that “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) brought a poster featuring photos of prominent Americans with immigrant roots when they were babies to accompany his speech.

It featured public figures like former President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Walt Disney, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

“These are not somebody else’s babies. These are immigrants, the children of immigrants, and they are our babies,” Swalwell said.

King drew public outcry over the weekend when he posted a tweet in support of anti-Muslim nationalist Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

“Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” King tweeted.

The Iowa congressman has since doubled down on his remarks, saying in an interview with CNN that “I meant exactly what I said.”

“I’d like to see an America that’s just so homogenous that we look a lot the same, from that perspective,” King added, explaining he believes Western civilization is “superior.”

Swalwell singled King out by name during his House floor speech, three days after the controversy first unfolded.

“There’s nothing to restore. We are the greatest country in the world,” Swalwell said. “But worse, by disparaging the value of ‘somebody else’s babies,’ Mr. King argues for an America void of people of color or who worship differently than he does. That’s not who we are.”

A handful of fellow House Republicans have condemned King’s comments, including Florida Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both Cuban Americans, and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), whose parents are Syrian and Palestinian immigrants.

When asked about King's comments during an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier Monday night, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said, “I disagree with that statement,” adding, “We’re a melting pot.”

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