It was only a matter of time before GOP Rep. Steve King's comment about young unauthorized immigrants being drug mules "with calves the size of cantaloupes" elicited some hilarious reactions on social media. With cantaloupes involved. And, yes, people's calves.
It all began when King, a Republican from Iowa, recently gave an interview to Newsmax in which he talked about young people who arrived in the U.S. as minors, currently the subject of a GOP-backed House proposal to grant some of them legal status.
King said: "For everyone who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds — and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert."
The first reaction was criticism, with the White House and even some fellow Republicans chiming in to blast King for the latest in a string of verbal faux pas. Then the cantaloupes arrived.
#DREAMers bring cantaloupes to Rep. Steve King's office. Capitol Policeman is trigger-ready. #latism .@latinorebels pic.twitter.com/UsCycTVvTV
— Susan Pai (@susanpai) July 25, 2013
Yep, carrying melons. Like Jennifer Grey in "Dirty Dancing."
Then there are the calves. Encouraged by the advocacy organization America's Voice, young immigrants and others have been posting photos of their calves — hairy ones, fit ones, flabby ones — on Twitter. A few tweets:
Definitely undocucalves but NOT drug runner calves #nocantaloupecalveshere @SteveKingIA pic.twitter.com/QqtQpwJlpI
— Ray Jose (@Rayzorsharp23) July 25, 2013
Definitely undocumented, definitely used to run cross country, definitely not a drug mule!! #nocantaloupecalveshere pic.twitter.com/d19BNEl14a
— Maricela Aguilar (@maricelaguilar) July 25, 2013
@americasvoice White privilege: had calves compared 2 fruit, never called a drug mule #nocantaloupecalveshere pic.twitter.com/vv1c2As63A
— TaraTC (@TaraTC) July 25, 2013
Conveniently, America's Voice has now published a collection of human calf photos in a blog post, "20 calves that prove Steve King is wrong."
We're reaching out to King for comment on this reaction. In the meantime, a King staffer in Washington confirmed that cantaloupes have indeed been delivered to the office Thursday.
Serving suggestion: They're best with a squirt of lime and a little chile powder.
