Steve King was reportedly barred from Air Force One when President Donald Trump flew to the Republican Iowa congressman’s home state Tuesday.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and others reported that the King, who was invited by the Iowa Republican Party to attend a fundraiser later Tuesday evening, was not allowed on the president’s plane. (RELATED: Steve King Loses Committee Seats Over White Supremacy Comments)
Steve King, who was stripped of his congressional cmte assignments, wasn’t allowed to fly on AF1 today, @jeffzeleny reports.
I‘d heard same. Can confirm King wasn’t on plane; isn’t here at ethanol event. He’ll be at Trump fundraiser for Iowa GOP tonight.https://t.co/J0hk56WTVg
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 11, 2019
Trump did not make the flight alone, however. CNN reported that Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and Republican Nebraska Sen Deb Fischer joined the president on the jaunt from Washington to the midwest.
President Donald Trump did not allow disgraced GOP Rep. Steve King to travel onboard Air Force One for Trump’s trip today to Iowa
Republican Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Deb Fischer of Nebraska joined Trump aboard Air Force Onehttps://t.co/2IAGPXO6ED
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 11, 2019
Although King was not on the plane, he is still expected to attend the later fundraiser, which Trump is also scheduled to attend.
Rep. Steve King (the white supremacist shunned by House colleagues + lost his committee assignments) was invited to attend a fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party tonight where Trump is set to speak. https://t.co/uXXoRP0MWE via @letsgomathias + @svdate
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) June 11, 2019
King was stripped of his committee assignments over comments that many viewed as “white supremacist” in nature when he said in a New York Times interview, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”