King Blames Obama for Inciting Baltimore Riots

The Iowa firebrand takes his hot fire to South Carolina.

Representative Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, speaks during the South Carolina Freedom Summit hosted by Citizens United and Congressman Jeff Duncan in Greenville, South Carolina, U.S., on Saturday, May 9, 2015.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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By Sahil Kapur

May 9, 2015 at 4:44 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Representative Steve King was in his element at the South Carolina Freedom Summit on Saturday, saying after a speech to raucous conservatives that the fault for riots in Baltimore lies with President Barack Obama.

“President Obama has consistently driven wedges between people. And he perceives a difference on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation—wedge after wedge after wedge. I didn't really imagine they were going to drive a wedge between the law and law-breakers,” King, a Tea Party favorite from Iowa, told reporters in Greenville. “It is instinctive on the part of the president. That's a level that I have not seen before.”