Young Turks reporter tricks Steve King into tweeting about ‘A Few Good Men’ villain

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was tricked into commending a “military officer” that was actually a photo of Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie “A Few Good Men.” 

Ken Klippenstein, a reporter with the left-leaning online news show “The Young Turks,” replied to the lawmaker’s tweet about Independence Day, asking, “Sir, can I get a retweet for my uncle Col. Nathan Jessup, he’s in the Marines and spending the 4th overseas keeping our nation safe.”

The tweet included a photo of Nicholson’s character Col. Jessup, the villain of the 1992 film starring Tom Cruise and Demi Moore.

Sir, can I get a retweet for my uncle Col. Nathan Jessup, he’s in the Marines and spending the 4th overseas keeping our nation safe pic.twitter.com/P8DKZqy2D8

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 4, 2019

{mosads}King retweeted the message, adding, “Colonel Jessup and all your Marines: God Bless you all. You have our back and millions of us have yours! God Bless America and all her warriors defending our Liberty! SK”

Although King deleted the tweet, Klippenstein and other Twitter users shared screenshots.

holy shit lol pic.twitter.com/SYP9fvdGLz

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 5, 2019

But before King could delete the Tweet, Klippenstein changed his name on the social media site to “Steve King is a white supremacist,” leading to King inadvertently sharing the accusation on his own Twitter page.

You know I had to do it pic.twitter.com/gXe6gsucHB

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 5, 2019

The lawmaker also reportedly blocked Klippenstein, according to screenshots from the reporter. 

thin skin! pic.twitter.com/Sxc2waPOcz

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 5, 2019

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) retweeted screenshots of King’s tweet, referencing Tom Cruise’s character in the movie: “Hey @SteveKingIA: I don’t always praise fictional military personnel, but when I do, I prefer praising Lt. Daniel Kaffee. #AFewGoodMen”

Hey @SteveKingIA: I don’t always praise fictional military personnel, but when I do, I prefer praising Lt. Daniel Kaffee.#AFewGoodMen https://t.co/UD7sXwmhA1

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 5, 2019

The Hill has reached out to King’s staff for comment.