A Republican United States Congressman from Iowa with a history of saying weird, racist things has now said that generations of people would not be here without rape and incest.

That incredibly troubling comment came as Rep. Steve King spoke to a conservative gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, arguing that humanity would not have the population it does today if not for rape and incest.  The context was to defend a bill that bans abortion, even if the cases of rage and incest.

"What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest?” King said. “Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?  Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that."

The comments drew condemnation from across the political spectrum.  

New Yoek Democrat and presidential candidate Senator Kristen Gillibrand called King a "disgrace" and told him to resign.  Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar - herself the target of a right-wing smear campaign claiming she married her brother (she didn't) - called King "gross".

Republican leadership appeared to have abandoned King after years of his comments drawing very negative attention.  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the comments show why King was stripped of his committee assignments earlier this year, when King endorsed white nationalism.

Wyoming Republican Lynne Cheney - daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney - said King's comments were "appalling and bizarre".  She added, "As I've said before, it's time for him to go.  The people of Iowa's 4th congressional district deserve better."

King is known for wingnut comments, long calling for a wall with an electric fence be built on the southern border with Mexico.  He has referred to Mexican immigrants as "dirt" with "calves the size of cantaloupes" from carrying barrels of weed across the southern western desert.  He has been criticized for frequent trips to Europe to hang out with fellow travelers like Geert Wilders of the Netherlands and other far-right leaders.