Rep. Steve King (R-IA) urged President Barack Obama on Friday to invite the embattled Missouri State Fair rodeo clown to the White House for a beer summit, arguing that the flap was “not about race.”
King, a tea party favorite, delivered the message on Twitter:
Mr. President: Invite the rodeo clown 2 the White House 4 a beer summit. Take the temperature down, have a laugh, relax. It’s not about race
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) August 16, 2013
King’s suggestion follows a piece by conservative columnist Peggy Noonan, who wrote earlier this week that it would be “classy” if the President went to bat for the clown, whose impersonation of Obama led to a lifetime ban from the Missouri State Fair. Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) also defended the clown, inviting him to Texas.
Obama himself has not weighed in on the incident, but White House spokesman Josh Earnest, a native of Missouri, said it was “not one of the finer moments” for his home state.
