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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday, I joined with President Biden, Senator Gillibrand, and New York officials on one of the most difficult and painful trips imaginable.

Visiting Buffalo 3 days after the worst mass shooting in its history was harrowing. I met a young boy, just 3 years old, who I learned lost his dad on Saturday because his dad was at Tops supermarket buying a birthday cake for the 3-year-old boy--a routine errand for a joyous occasion, something every parent looks forward to. In the blink of an eye, his life was unfairly and cruelly taken away simply because he was Black and in a supermarket.

It is tempting to think that this evil is beyond comprehension, but we know it is just not true. We know the shooter drew from the same wells of hate and White supremacy that inspired other shootings in El Paso, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Charleston, and other communities. By now, we know the shooter was inspired by a deranged conspiracy theory known as the ``great replacement.'' Indeed, in his online posts, he labeled the people he targeted as ``replacers.''

But the truth is that you don't need to visit the dark corners of the internet to see these White supremacist views anymore. You can find replacement theory on cable networks like FOX News, where Tucker Carlson used White replacement rhetoric on at least 400 episodes of his show. You can hear it at most Trump rallies every time the Republican standard-bearer vilifies undocumented immigrants and spreads the lie that they stole the 2020 election. Last night, the GOP in Pennsylvania nominated a hard-right disciple of the Big Lie as their candidate for Governor. You can also find many examples of replacement theory on Twitter. One House Member said in April that Tucker Carlson ``is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America.''

The radical views of MAGA Republicans are taking over the GOP like a cancer. We saw it play out earlier this month in the wake of the Supreme Court's possible elimination of Roe, as they suggested national bans on abortion and championed restrictions without exceptions for rape or incest. Now we are seeing it here, as MAGA Republicans openly champion a repressive and conspiratorial view of who deserves to be called American.

To its credit, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote a few days ago that politicians have an ``obligation'' to condemn conspiracies like White replacement theory. But 4 days after the shooting in Buffalo, it is dangerous and disturbing to see that many on the right have pointedly refused to condemn replacement theory. This should be the easiest thing in the world to do, but many on the right, including too many in this Chamber, can't seem to bring themselves to say the obvious: that White replacement theory is evil and has no place in our politics, and any candidate or pundit who spreads it should be resoundingly condemned.

We are waiting to hear more of our colleagues condemn the MAGA right and condemn this horrible replacement theory. So far, there is just too much silence, even though a few have.

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