White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday blasted unnamed public figures for pushing the racist so-called “replacement theory,” saying they “should be ashamed of themselves.”
For a second consecutive day, Jean-Pierre refused to name names when reporters on Air Force One asked if anyone specific may have inspired the mass murder of 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket Saturday by suspected white supremacist Payton Gendron, 18.
“The people who spread this filth know who they are and they should be ashamed of themselves,” Jean-Pierre said. “But I’m not going to give them or their noxious ideas they’re pushing the attention that they desperately want.”
Of the 13 people in total who were shot, 11 were black and Gendron outlined his bigoted views in a 180-page manifesto.
President Biden traveled to the site of the shooting Tuesday morning to pay tribute to the victims, with he and first lady Jill Biden laying flowers outside the supermarket where the massacre took place.
Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden had already called out the “poisonous, false, hateful ideology” as well as domestic terrorism in statements over the weekend.
“Every leader should condemn that hate and certainly not echo it. We’re going to focus on what unites us as Americans, that’s going to be what we’re focusing on,” she added.
When pressed about whether the president will call out any Republicans by name, the press secretary responded: “I’m not going to give them a platform.”
“We’re going to make our case directly to the people. We have a vision for this country: one where we combat racism and violence. We denounce white racism and domestic terror. We hope you all will join us in denouncing hate and racism, as well as the conspiracy theories that run rampant online.”
The “great replacement” theory refers to the idea that white Americans are being intentionally “replaced” by other races through mass immigration.
Gendron’s lengthy manifesto included a broad range of bigoted remarks, including about Jews and black people — two groups present in America since colonial times.
Some commentators, especially on CNN and MSNBC, have sought to blame the attack on Republican leaders and Fox News host Tucker Carlson — pointing to their allegedly common thoughts on immigration. But other commentators disagree on the link, arguing that broader circulation of the shooter’s manifesto would show clear distinctions.
Earlier in the year, Facebook advertisements posted by upstate GOP New York Rep. Elise Stefanik’s campaign committee accused Democrats of seeking a “PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION” by giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, which they claimed would “create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.”
On Monday, Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik’s campaign, insisted the congresswoman “has never advocated for any racist position or made a racist statement.”
But less than an hour later, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) accused House GOP leadership of having “enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism.”
As he left Buffalo Tuesday, Biden himself was questioned about whether certain members of Congress or Carlson should be blamed for allegedly propagating the “replacement” theory.
The president responded that those who believe in the idea share some blame “not for this particular crime, but it serves no purpose, no purpose except for profit and or political benefit.”
It is “wrong, simply wrong,” Biden added.
