The Republican National Convention has kicked off in earnest, with Ohio playing host to a number of rallies supporting and combating Donald Trump’s bid for the White House before the convention proper gets underway. MSNBC hosted a panel including Iowa congressman Steve King to discuss the first day of the convention, which led to Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric on race relations.
The discussion was kicked off by Esquire’s Charles Pierce, who believed the Republican base of “old white people” would fade away as a formidable political group. “If you’re really optimistic, you can say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican party’s attention, its platform, its public face. That hall is wired by loud, unhappy, dissatisfied white people.”
The elected official then made a response.
“I’d ask ya to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people. Where did any other sub-group of people contribute more to civilization?”
Chris Hayes responded, seemingly flabbergasted with, “than white people?”
“Than western civilization itself. It’s rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the United States of America and every place where the footprint of Christianity settled the world. That’s all of Western civilization.”
This, of course, led to total chaos followed by Hayes asking, “Let’s not argue the history of civilization.” This did not quell the chaos.
U.S. congressman Steve King, y’all. pic.twitter.com/E0CCqm5aL0
— Nick Wing (@nickpwing) July 18, 2016