New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik issued a statement Monday attacking the media for its reporting that she has promoted the "great replacement" theory. The number three House Republican was attempting to escape criticism of her support of the philosophy that prompted an 18-year-old white supremacist to murder Black shoppers on Sunday at a Buffalo supermarket.
In her tweet, headlined "Disgraceful, Dishonest and Dangerous Media Smears," she included a declaration from senior adviser Alex DeGrasse that "Stefanik has never advocated for any racist position or made a racist statement" and labeled the media that reported her previous statements as "groveling hacks."
In the fall of 2021, Stefanik began campaign ads on Facebook claiming that the Democrats were going to use amnesty for illegal immigrants to "overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.'"
"Radical Democrats are planning their most aggressive move yet: a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION,” says one version of the ad. “Their [sic] plan to grant amnesty to 11 MILLION illegal immigrants will overthrow our current electorate."
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Online Twitter followers of the New York congresswoman have been quick to call her out on the attempted walk-back.
"In case anyone thought @RepStefanik wasn't intentional about employing this rhetoric, here she is today on the House floor reading from prepared remarks invoking the white nationalist conspiracy theory about an 'invasion,'" tweeted one follower.
Stefanik's attempt to distance herself from her previous comments was shot down by none other than Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, who wrote: "The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy and anti-semitism."