‘What happened here is straightforward terrorism’: Biden condemns ‘those who spread’ Great Replacement ‘lie’
President Joe Biden unequivocally condemned white supremacism, domestic terrorism, and those who spread the "lie" known as the great replacement theory, during impassioned remarks at the Delevan Grider Community Center in Buffalo, New York Tuesday. The President, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other top Democrats traveled to Buffalo to grieve and mourn with those suffering after a self-avowed white supremacist and antisemite massacred ten Black people in a neighborhood supermarket Saturday.
"White supremacy is a poison," President Biden declared repeatedly, lamenting that "it's been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes."
"No more," he declared. "We need to say as clearly and as forcefully as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America. None."
"Silence is complicity. We cannot remain silent."
In remarks following the deadly Buffalo, NY mass shooting, President Biden says white supremacy "is a poison." "We need to say as clearly as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America ... Silence is complicity. We cannot remain silent." pic.twitter.com/BWkrAckocV
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 17, 2022
The President also warned that democracy itself in America is in danger as he chastised "those who pretend to love America."
Pres. Biden delivers remarks after 10 people were killed in Buffalo, NY: "The American experiment in democracy is in a danger like it hasn't been in my lifetime. It's endangered this hour. Hate and fear have been given too much oxygen by those who pretend to love America." pic.twitter.com/F6Ssw4bWy7
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 17, 2022
The President paid tribute to those who were shot and killed on Saturday.
“What happened here is simple and straightforward: Terrorism. Domestic terrorism. Violence inflicted in the service of hate and the vicious thirst for power that defines one group of people as inherently inferior to any other group," he told mourning community members.
SPECIAL REPORT: President Biden is discussing the Buffalo mass shooting after meeting with families and first responders. https://t.co/u3m1AkjCLE
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 17, 2022
"I call on all Americans to reject the lie," of great replacement, President Biden implored. "And I condemn those who spread the lie for power, political gain, and for profit."
“Evil will not win, I promise you,” President Biden declared.