Rep. Steve King (R-IA) said Wednesday that he would be “happy” with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s (R) being the figurehead of the Republican Party because “she’s beautiful.”
King told reporters he didn’t think Haley was a “principled conservative,” but added, “I think she’s beautiful so I’d be happy if she’s the face of the party,” according to Associated Press reporter Erica Werner.
Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address on Tuesday night. She said Americans must “resist” the temptations to follow the party’s “angriest voices,” which was interpreted as a critique of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. Haley confirmed this on Wednesday morning.
King told reporters that he was worried about Haley’s critique of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“I’m concerned that if anybody intimates that we have to allow for, essentially, the implication was unlimited immigration into America. We have to say no to some,” King said, according to The Hill.
