Disgraced former Iowa Rep. Steve King endorses Ramaswamy
Former Iowa Rep. Steve King endorsed GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday.
King lost his House seat in the 2020 primary after he was stripped of his committee assignments after questioning why the terms "white supremacist" and "white nationalist" had become offensive.
King, a believer in the white supremacist "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, was repeatedly affiliated with white nationalism while in office.
The theory is shaped by beliefs that white Europeans are replaced in their countries by non-white immigrants, which believers claim would be the "extinction of the white race."
Ramaswamy celebrated King, and lauded the endorsement at an Iowa rally Tuesday.
“Steve King was America First before it was cool,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. “He doesn’t back down from a fight and he certainly doesn’t bow to the Establishment.”
“We’ve found common cause on countless issues where other Republicans are too afraid to speak up — opposing the CO2 Pipelines here in Iowa, ending birthright citizenship, making English the national language, or shutting down the deep state,” he continued. “I expect we’ll make Steve look prescient on Jan 15.”
King said Ramaswamy is set to “shock the world” with an Iowa Caucus win Jan. 15.
"If you want someone who is going to take on the deep state and speak truth to power, then vote for someone who is going to speak the truth to YOU,” King said in a statement.
Ramaswamy himself mentioned "The Great Replacement" conspiracy onstage during the fourth GOP debate last month in New Hampshire, claiming the idea “is not some grand right-wing conspiracy theory, but a basic statement of the Democratic Party’s platform.”
The biotech entrepreneur has also signaled support for other conspiracies, including remarks about the Sept. 11 attacks and that the Jan. 6 Capitol riots were an “inside job.”
Ramaswamy has struggled in Iowa, according to polling. He placed fourth in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls in Iowa, with about 6 percent support. He trails 11 points behind third place finisher Nikki Haley and 45 points behind front-runner former President Trump.
The Hill has reached out to the Ramaswamy campaign for additional comment.