Rep. Steve King steps into Twitter trap

Image: Steve King
Steve King attends a rally with Angel Families on the East Front of the Capitol on Sept. 7, 2018. Copyright Tom Williams CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
By Corky Siemaszko with NBC News Politics
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The controversial Iowa congressman appears to need a few good men to handle his Twitter account.

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Memo to Iowa Rep. Steve King: Col. Nathan Jessup is a character from the movie "A Few Good Men," not a real Marine.

King was apparently unaware of that when Ken Klippenstein, of progressive YouTube program The Young Turks, spoofed the Republican firebrand into sharing a message of support for his supposed uncle, Col. Nathan Jessup, who was played in the movie by Jack Nicholson.

"Sir, can I get a retweet for my uncle Col. Nathan Jessup, he's the Marines and spending the 4th overseas keeping our nation safe," Klippenstein wrote, sharing a still of the three-time Oscar winner in uniform from the movie in the Fourth of July tweet.

King bit, adding in his retweet: "Colonel Jessup and all your Marines: God Bless you all. You have our back and millions of us have yours! God Bless America and all her warrior defending our Liberty! SK."

But after King shared the tweet, Klippenstein changed his Twitter username to "Steve King is a white supremacist," which then appeared on King's timeline.

A short time later, King apparently couldn't handle the truththat he'd been fooled not once but twice and deleted the Tweet. But he wasn't fast enough.

Soon, other Twitter users began asking the controversial congressman to share supportive tweets to other fictional military characters.

King also made the mistake of replying to another Twitter who had a question about the Betsy Ross flag, which has been the subject of controversy after Nike pulled the plug on a new Fourth of July shoe which featured her design after Colin Kaepernick reportedly expressed concerns.

But that second user changed his handle to "Steve King drinks pee pee."

King apparently didn't realize he was duped yet again because it was still on his Twitter feed Friday. His spokesman, John Kennedy, did not return an email or phone call for an explanation.

An ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, King represents the mostly rural and rock-solid Republican Fourth District in northwestern Iowa and has a history of making racially-insensitive statements, especially about Hispanic immigrants.

Earlier this year, King was rebuked by his own party and stripped of his committee assignments after he made inflammatory remarks about white nationalism. He later compared his rebuke to Jesus' suffering.

Co-starring Tom Cruise and released in 1992, "A Few Good Men" is a critically-acclaimed military courtroom drama that received four Academy Award nominations, including a best supporting actor nomination for Nicholson.

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