‘This Is A Poison’: Chuck Schumer Uses Senate Floor To Berate Fox News After Buffalo Shooting

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer used his time on the Senate floor on Tuesday to berate Fox News and popular host Tucker Carlson, claiming that the network’s — and specifically Carlson’s — coverage was influencing people like the man who killed ten people over the weekend in Buffalo, New York.

Carlson has suggested on his show that the Democratic Party favors an open southern border because they believe the influx of illegal immigrants will benefit them politically by diluting the political power of those who oppose them — and Schumer argued that because the suspect in the Buffalo shooting wrote about Replacement Theory in a lengthy and heavily-racist diatribe, it was people like Carlson and networks like Fox News that were truly responsible.

“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 began.

He then pivoted to address Carlson and Fox News directly, claiming that they were responsible for propagating the message that had allowed people like the Buffalo shooter to stew in his own racist hatred.

“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,” Schumer said.

He went on to say that Carlson had mentioned Replacement Theory on his popular prime time show over 400 times since 2016, according to The New York Times.

“Four hundred times. This is a poison that is being spread by one of the largest news organizations in our country,” Schumer continued, noting that the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board had called on politicians and media personalities to condemn the theory.

“They are right, condemning racist ideologies and violence is necessary but hardly sufficient,” he said. “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.”

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

In addition, Schumer sent a letter to Fox News — urging that the network “immediately cease the reckless amplification of the so-called ‘Great Replacement theory’ on your network’s broadcasts.”

Schumer letter to the Murdochs and Fox execs: “I write to urge you to immediately cease the reckless amplification of the so-called ‘Great Replacement theory’ on your network’s broadcasts” pic.twitter.com/ykeIa8Be3o

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 17, 2022

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