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Baby Announcement by Steve King Gets Political

There are few things cuter than a proud grandfather, even if Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, used the newborn’s photo op to talk politics.

The six-term member took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to share that his sixth grandchild, Wallace Henry King, had arrived at 5:21 a.m.

Jeff King, the youngest of the congressman’s three sons, and wife Lindsay welcomed the 7-pound, 14-ounce baby into the world in Carroll, Iowa.

The tweet — complete with texting-style smiley and a shout-out to God for the “priceless miracle” — started sweet.

But King ended the blurb with a number that kind of killed the “oohs” and “ahhs.”

“National debt share $54,310,” he wrote.

While Democrats may call it a jab and Republicans may argue it’s just a reminder of the times we live in, the crafty add-in by King elicited a number of retweets and responses from followers.

Some commenters bashed him for promoting economic statistics while others congratulated King and apologized that the child was born into a nation with a national debt of more than $17 trillion.

Also tweeting birth announcements this week were House Republicans Kevin Yoder of Kansas and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, though both kept it solely family-focused.

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