Gillibrand calls on Steve King to resign over comments about rape and incest

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called on Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to resign Wednesday after the embattled congressman questioned whether there would be “any population of the world left” if not for rape and incest throughout history. 

“You are a disgrace. Resign,” Gillibrand, who is vying for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, said in a tweet.  

.@SteveKingIA: You are a disgrace. Resign. https://t.co/Tbu1e1mZ9O

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) August 14, 2019

Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) campaign issued a statement shortly after reports of King’s remarks, echoing Gillibrand’s call for King to resign.

“Every Iowa leader, regardless of party, should condemn Representative King’s comments, an exercise they should all be familiar with by now, and join us in asking for his resignation,” Booker’s campaign said in a statement.{mosads}

Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), responded to King’s comments by endorsing the Iowa congressman’s potential Democratic challenger, J.D. Scholten.  

“My friend @JDScholten is standing up and fighting back against Steve King, and he needs all of our help — because no matter where you live, you know there’s no place for Steve King’s racism, bigotry, and hatred in Congress,” O’Rourke tweeted.

My friend @JDScholten is standing up and fighting back against Steve King, and he needs all of our help — because no matter where you live, you know there’s no place for Steve King’s racism, bigotry, and hatred in Congress.

Pitch in: https://t.co/X0C2Yrt8tq https://t.co/PDzXsj36mF

— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 14, 2019

King sparked controversy on Wednesday while defending anti-abortion legislation that did not have exceptions for rape and incest. 

“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?” King told a crowd at the Westside Conservative Club. “Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”

The Catholic lawmaker argued that the bad circumstances of a baby’s conception does not negate their right to life.

King, a nine-term lawmaker who has a history of making controversial comments, was removed from his positions on the House Judiciary, Agriculture and Small Business committees earlier this year after questioning during an interview with The New York Times how terms such as “white supremacist” and “white nationalist” became “offensive.”

Gillibrand called on King to resign in January during her first visit to Iowa as a potential presidential candidate, shortly after King’s comments to the Times.