Republican congressman Steve King pranked into thanking fictional US marine on July 4

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Iowa congressman Steve King was pranked by a reporter into wishing a fictional US marine a happy Independence Day.

Ken Klippenstein, a reporter for liberal outlet The Young Turks, sent out a tweet responding to one of Mr King’s, saying: “Sir, can I get a retweet for my uncle Col Nathan Jessup, he’s in the marines and is spending the 4th overseas keeping our nation safe.”

Mr Klippenstein then attached a photo depicting Jack Nicholson playing the character of Colonel Nathan Jessup in the 1992 film A Few Good Men, an adaptation of the Aaron Sorkin play.

Mr King, a Republican, responded, retweeting the image and writing: “Colonel Jessup and all your Marines: God bless you all. You have our back and millions of us have yours!”

He continued: “God bless America and all her warriors defending our Liberty!”

The message was signed “SK”, which means the tweet came directly from Mr King himself and not a staffer or intern.

The prank was well-received on social media, with Molly Jong-Fast tweeting “So it’s possible that Ken Klippenstein won the internet tonight”, and 2020 candidate and left-wing icon Mike Gravel commenting: “My lord”.

Mr King deleted his tweet soon after, but the screenshots are still making their rounds on social media.