Chuck Schumer Torches Fox News and ‘MAGA Republicans’ Over ‘Racist’ Replacement Theory in Blistering Speech on Senate Floor

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer torched what he called “MAGA Republicans” and Fox News over the spread of the racist “replacement theory” that the Buffalo mass shooter claimed as his inspiration.

During Thursday’s Senate session, Schumer opened his remarks by describing the terrifying raxcist attack by an 18-year-old white man named Payton Gendron that claimed the lives of ten people.

Leader Schumer explained the racist “replacement theory” that apparently motivated the attack, and called out “MAGA Republicans” and others who promote it — not always explicitly:

Every time MAGA Republicans or pundits vilify wrongly immigrants and call them invaders…

Every time they falsely claim that millions of undocumented people cast ballots in our elections…

Every time loud bigoted voices bemoan the disintegration of an imagined “classic” America…

The subtext is clear: these hard-right MAGA Republicans argue that people of color and minority communities are somehow posing a threat — a threat — to the American way of life.

Schumer then zeroed in on Fox News and their top-rated host, Tucker Carlson, who have faced stiff criticism for their long record of promoting the narratives prior to the attack:

And let’s be clear: it’s a message that has ALSO found a special home in several right-wing outlets, and on one cable news channel in particular: Fox News.

In a craven quest for viewers and ratings, organizations like Fox News have spent years perfecting the craft of stoking cultural grievance and political resentment that eerily mirrors the messages found in replacement theory.

According to one measure by the New York Times, Fox’s top political pundit, — most widely watched — Tucker Carlson, has spewed rhetoric that echoes replacement theory at least 400 times on his show since 2016.

Let me repeat that: According to one measure by the New York Times, Fox’s top political pundit, Tucker Carlson, has spewed rhetoric that echoes replacement theory at least 400 times on his show since 2016.

Four hundred times. This is a poison that is being spread by one of the largest news organizations in our country.

Now, to its credit, this morning the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board—which is run by the same elites who run Fox News, owned by the same people, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board—wrote that “Politicians and media figures have an obligation to condemn…such conspiratorial notions as ‘white replacement theory.’” Those are the words of the Wall Street Journal Editorial page.

They are right, condemning racist ideologies and violence is necessary but hardly sufficient.

It is not enough for outlets like Fox News to simply condemn Saturday’s violence, and condemn the shooter’s racist views, and then return to their regularly-scheduled programing.

To have an impact in the fight against domestic violent extremism, Fox News and their hosts need to actually stop spreading dangerous ideas like replacement theory on their shows.

Let me say that again: if organizations like Fox News truly want to condemn this weekend’s violence, they need to stop spreading ideas like replacement theory on their shows. We see, sadly, unfortunately, and on several all too many occasions what happens when these views are given a platform.

Every single media pundit, every single elected politician—and indeed every single voice of influence in this country—should band together to stomp views like replacement theory out of existence.

These views should have no place in American society and certainly no place in the segments of our most-watched news channels.

Watch above via C-Span.