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Elise Stefanik slammed after Buffalo mass shooting for promoting racist 'replacement theory'

Some of Stefanik's critics said the GOP firebrand was among proponents of the racist theory and that their "words were getting people murdered"

New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik was haunted by allegations of pushing the "great replacement theory" in Facebook ads last year after she expressed her condolences for those killed in the Buffalo grocery store shooting on Saturday. Some said the GOP firebrand was among proponents of the racist theory and that their "words were getting people murdered."

Gunman Payton Gendron, 18, who killed at least 10 civilians on Saturday, May 14, claimed in a 180-page manifesto that he was "radicalized" on the internet during the early days of the Covid pandemic, and not by any people he had met personally. The self-professed white supremacist and anti-Semite said he had found through his "research" about low white birth rates across the globe, and that the "crisis" would "ultimately result in the complete racial and cultural replacement of the European people."

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Stefanik, who has represented New York's 21st congressional district since 2015, commented on the mass shooting in Buffalo shortly after the incident. "Very saddened to hear the tragic news of fellow NYers in Buffalo. We are praying for the entire community and law enforcement at this time," she wrote on Twitter.

The outrage about Stefanik's apparently racist Facebook ads followed shortly after her tweet addressing the Saturday tragedy.

"TV reporters: Please remember that @EliseStefanik had lots of Facebook ads pushing the Replacement Theory when you book her for your Sunday shows. Please do not allow her to slither out from under your questions—ask follow-ups," news broadcaster Soledad O'Brien tweeted.

"Dear @EliseStefanik Please tell New Yorkers if you are "saddened" about the Facebook ads **YOU BOUGHT** pushing 'great replacement theory' and claiming white people are intentionally being replaced by migrants. Guess you forgot to mention your hateful+racist ads in your tweet?" author Don Winslow added.

"The elected officials, candidates, and media personalities who've embraced, toyed with or winked at "replacement theory" have a duty to denounce today's mass murder in Buffalo. They also have a responsibility emphatically to tell their supporters or followers to reject violence," The Bulwark editor Bill Kristol offered.

"My heart goes out to the victims and their families in the mass shooting in Buffalo. I call on @GOPLeader to immediately condemn the vile and false conspiracy theory known as the “replacement theory.” Also, GOP Rep @EliseStefanik should stop running ads promoting replacement theory," California congressman Ted Lieu wrote.

"There are real-world consequences to people like Elise Stefanik or Tucker Carlson pushing their debunked, virulently racist “Replacement Theory.” This is no joke. Their words are getting people murdered," TV writer Bryan Behar alleged.

"The likes of those like @TuckerCarlson and @EliseStefanik pushing the great replacement theory to millions. White kid kills black folk under the guise of the same theory. My prayers go out to these families. And I pray we root the cancer of racism out, but I’m not optimistic," political pundit Bakari Sellers chimed in.
 

In September last year, Stefanik was blasted by a hometown newspaper for allegedly pushing the "replacement theory" in her Facebook ads. "Radical Democrats are planning their most aggressive move yet: a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION," one ad paid for by Stefanik's campaign stated, alongside an image of a wave of immigrants reflected in aviator sunglasses worn by President Joe Biden.

The Times Union's editorial board subsequently accused the No. 3 House Republican of espousing the theory that white people are being intentionally replaced by immigrants or people of color. In an editorial titled "How low, Miss Stefanik?", the newspaper claimed that the "replacement theory" had "seeped into the mainstream political discourse in the Capital Region, where Rep. Elise Stefanik has adapted this despicable tactic for campaign ads." It added, "Ms. Stefanik isn't so brazen as to use the slogans themselves; rather, she couches the hate in alarmist, anti-immigrant rhetoric that's become standard fare for the party of Donald Trump."

Stefanik shot back at the newspaper in a Facebook post, calling the op-ed a "desperate attempt to stoke outrage." The congresswoman added, "To equate opposition to illegal immigration with Nazism and white supremacy is a desperate attempt to stoke outrage & avoid covering Joe Biden's border crisis."