Replacement Theory Goes Mainstream

Something is happening in America. Replacement theory goes mainstream. At the extremes of American life there is replacement theory. It is the notion that Western elites, sometimes manipulated by Jews, want to “replace” and disempower white Americans. The idea of replacement theory is now going mainstream.

Replacement Theory

Replacement theory, once on hidden message boards and white nationalist sites, has gone mainstream. In has become a potent force in conservative media and politics. The theory has been borrowed and remixed to attract audiences, retweets, and donations.

Mainly, they have become commonplace in the Republican Party. Spoken aloud at congressional hearings, echoed in Republican campaign advertisements, and used by a growing array of right-wing candidates and media personalities.

Tucker Carlson

No public figure has promoted replacement theory more loudly or relentlessly than the ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson. He has made elite-led demographic change a central theme of his show since joining Fox’s prime-time lineup in 2016. Additionally, Tucker has used this term more than 400 episodes of his show. He has amplified the notion that Democratic politicians and other assorted elites want to force demographic change through immigration.

Measuring the extent of Mr. Carlson’s influence in spreading replacement theory may be impossible. Controversies around the host’s use of “replacement” rhetoric appear to have at least helped drive public curiosity about the idea.

Cable hosts looking for ratings and politicians in search of money can see which stories and narratives are drawing the most intense reactions among users. Social media sites and internet forums add to the dispensing of information.

Elise Stefanik

Elise Stefanik, the center-right New York congresswoman turned Trump acolyte released a campaign ad on Facebook claiming that Democrats were plotting “a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION” by granting “amnesty” to illegal immigrants. which would “overthrow our current electorate and create a permanent liberal majority in Washington.”

Thirty percent American adults now believe that an effort is underway to replace native-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains. People who mostly watch right-wing media outlets are more likely to believe in replacement theory. They like Fox News, One America News Network and Newsmax. Rarely do they watch CNN or MSNBC.

Underlying all variations of replacement rhetoric is the growing diversity of the United States over the past decade. People who identify as Hispanic and Asian surged and the number of people who said they were more than one race more than doubled.

Democratic politicians are generally more supportive of immigration than Republicans. Especially in the post-Trump era and have pushed for more humane treatment of migrants and refugees.

What Has Been Done by Crazies Who Believe in Replacement Theory?

Inside a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, a white man with a history of antisemitic internet posts gunned down 11 worshipers. He was blaming Jews for allowing immigrant “invaders” into the United States.

Another white man, angry over what he called “the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” opened fire on shoppers at an El Paso Walmart, leaving 23 people dead, and later telling the police he had sought to kill Mexicans.

In Buffalo, a heavily armed white man is accused of killing 10 people. He targeted a supermarket on the city’s predominantly Black east side. He felt the shoppers there came from a culture that sought to “ethnically replace my own people.”

I need to give Nicholas Confessore and Karen Yourish credit for some of this information.