Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa’s campaign is losing support from companies. In the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, consumers and employees are pushing back against companies donating to King as they are fed up with his years of racist comments and association with white nationalists, even
retweeting a Nazi sympathizer.
Intel, Land O’Lakes and Purina PetCare have announced that they would no longer make financial contributions to his campaign. King, an eight-term House member who represents Iowa’s most conservative congressional district, is running against Democrat J.D. Scholten in the midterm election on Nov. 6.
Judd Legum, author of the newsletter Popular Information, tweeted at Purina on Tuesday asking why they are donating to King:
Dear
@Purina:Your job is to feed dogs and cats.
Why are you donating money to Steve King, a Congressman who embraces white nationalism
Looking forward to your reply.
Best,
Judd
pic.twitter.com/Ky9fwTecPf
Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
October 30, 2018
Purina offered the following response:
Our PAC contributions are typically made to elected officials from both parties who represent the local communities where we have operations and associates. Representative King’s recent statements are in conflict with our values and we are no longer contributing to his campaign.
Purina (@Purina)
October 30, 2018
King is notorious for his support of white nationalist rhetoric.
He endorsed, Faith Goldy, an openly white supremacist candidate for mayor of Toronto. He often praises far-right politicians and groups in other countries.
In August, during a European trip financed by From the Depths a Holocaust memorial group King actually met with members of a far-right Austrian party with historical ties to Nazis for an interview on their anti-Semitic propaganda website. The meeting was just a day after ending a five-day trip to Jewish and Holocaust historical sites in Poland, including the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
“In an interview with a website associated with the party, King declared that ‘Western civilization is on the decline,’ spoke of the replacement of white Europeans by immigrants and criticized Hungarian American financier George Soros, who has backed liberal groups around the world,” according to
The Washington Post.
In December, King
shared a story on Twitter written by the Voice of Europe and quoted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, who said, “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one.”
King added to the tweet: “Diversity is not our strength.”
He is at the forefront of supporting the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies and the push to end birthright citizenship.
On Sunday, Intel
sent an internal memo to employees stating the company would no longer support King because employees raised concerns about donations.
Legum tweeted at Land O’Lakes on Monday asking why the company continued to support King. The tweet got a huge response from Twitter users.
Hey everyone I need your help.
I can’t get @LandOLakesInc to explain why it gave 2.5K to Steve King despite his history of racist comments and, recently, endorsing a white supremicist for mayor
Can you ask them and let me know if you hear back
Maybe you’ll have better luck.
Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) October 29, 2018
Others began to chime in:
Why don’t we ask their CEO
@BethFordLOL Ms. Ford, why is your organization donating thousands of dollars to a white supremacist and open supporter of racism, anti-semitism, and other forms of hatred all around the globe
Adam Behr (@BehrAdam)
October 29, 2018
The company said in a statement on Tuesday:
“The Land O’Lakes Inc. PAC has traditionally contributed to lawmakers of both parties that represent the communities where our members and employees live and work and are also on committees that oversee policies that directly impact our farmer owners. We take our civic responsibility seriously, want our contributions to be a positive force for good and also seek to ensure that recipients of our contributions uphold our company’s values. On that basis, we have determined that our PAC will no longer support Rep. King moving forward.”
