Matt Gaetz’s support of the racist “Great Replacement” theory resurfaced after a white supremacist adherent of the idea went on a racially motivated shooting spree in Buffalo over the weekend.
The Florida rep. supported the theory last year, after Fox News host Tucker Carlson landed in hot water for sharing the idea on his show. Subscribers to the theory believe that powerful people are willfully manipulating policies in the United States with the goal of making white Americans a minority. Carlson referred to white people as “legacy Americans” and said that they are being replaced by “more obedient people from far away countries.”
After those comments aired, Gaetz supported Carlson unequivocally. That support is coming under fire after a shooting spree at a Buffalo supermarket left 10 people dead. A manifesto purportedly written by the shooter espoused white supremacist viewpoints, noting a supposed decline in the white population of the US. The attacker appears to have targeted a Black neighborhood intentionally.
Gaetz and the GOP were accused of having blood on their hands by several Twitter users, including ’80s singer-songwriter Richard Marx. Gaetz’s support of the theory spread widely alongside news of the shooter’s political beliefs.
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