Ryan Spox Comments on Steve King Retweeting a Neo-Nazi
‘Nazis have no place in our politics, and clearly members should not engage with anyone promoting hate’
Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s spokeswoman affirmed Tuesday his position that “Nazis have no place in politics” after Iowa Rep. Steve King retweeted a neo-Nazi.
Earlier this month, King retweeted Mark Collett, a British neo-Nazi who has said he admired Adolf Hitler.
Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said “the speaker has said many times that Nazis have no place in our politics, and clearly members should not engage with anyone promoting hate.”
Ryan’s office made the comments in the context of the speaker calling on Democratic Rep. Maxine Watersto apologize for calling for confrontation with White House officials.
Waters told supports Saturday if they saw a member of President Donald Trump’s administration in public “you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”
Last year, King also praised Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders and previously tweeted “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” which drew criticism from some of his Republican colleagues.
At that time, Strong said Ryan “clearly disagrees and believes America’s long history of inclusiveness is one of its great strengths.”