Biden Calls White Supremacy 'A Poison' in Buffalo Speech After Mass Shooting

President Joe Biden on Tuesday called white supremacy "a poison" that has festered "before our eyes" while addressing the recent "racially-motivated" shooting that occurred inside a Buffalo supermarket. 

The president and first lady Jill Biden visited Buffalo to pay tribute to the shooting victims and "to grieve" with their families. Biden vowed that "hate will not prevail, and white supremacy will not have the last word." He also labeled the incident, which left 10 people dead and three more wounded, as a "straightforward" example of "domestic terrorism." The shooter was allegedly motivated by the great replacement theory, which claims that white Americans are at risk of being replaced by people of color through increased immigration and low white birth rates. Without naming any specific individual or group, Biden condemned those "who spread the lie for power, political gain and for profit."

Some left-rated outlets said that Biden "assumed a familiar role of grief counselor and empathizer-in-chief" and notably "didn’t use the occasion to push for any policy prescriptions." Right-rated voices were more likely to criticize Biden for visiting Buffalo but not Waukesha, WI last November after a man drove an SUV through crowds of dancers and paraders during a Christmas parade. Some right-rated outlets also accentuated how Biden's push to prohibit assault weapons is "unlikely" to draw enough support to pass Congress.