Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference on Resolution Condemning the ‘Great Replacement Theory’

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Congressman Jamaal Bowman and other Members of Congress for a press conference on a resolution condemning the "great replacement theory" and commemorating the victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi.Thank you very much, Congressman Bowman, for the opportunity to speak with you on this subject today, for your tremendous leadership, your commitment on this subject and many others, which I have seen demonstrated in your district and in the halls of Congress. What is happening with this ‘great replacement' conspiracy theory is harmful to our country. It endangers our people. It weakens our country and is a threat to our democracy.

So thank you, thank you for your tremendous leadership in making this day possible when we will pass this on the Floor. Thank you, Mr. Hoyer, for making it possible so soon.

This is a call to racist violence on their part. So two things I want to say – and again,I'm honored to be with all of the parties here: our caucuses, families of victims of violence and the rest, as well as our colleagues with important legislation.

The combination of this replacement theory advocacy and gun violence is poisonous. It's explosive. And we have seen it take lives. But it is not new to our country. And this is what I want to read, because we're going to be hearing from so many Members and guests testifying here. This is what happened in a previous century.

A nativist – a nativist party that peaked in the 1850's, filling the vacuum left by Henry Clay's death and the collapse of the Whig Party, viewed German and Irish immigrants as a threat to their vision of an Anglo-Saxon Protestant nation. They espoused extreme anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic rhetoric, calling for restrictions on immigration, exclusion of foreign-born voters, barring Catholics from holding office and imposing a 21-year residency requirement for citizenship. The Know Nothings' racist legacy has lingered – it's down there – from the targeting of Asian immigrants in the late 19th Century to hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric today.

So this sentiment, this insecurity on the part of some people – to take it out on others. Last night, I had the privilege of speaking to the Reagan Institute for – opening their office here – their institute here, and I said, ‘I'm going to quote a Republican president, President Reagan.' President Reagan spoke out about the importance of, of immigration to our country: ‘This is the first – the last speech I will make as President of the United States,' he said, ‘and I want to communicate a message to the country I love.' He talked about the Statue of Liberty and the beacon of hope that it was to the world. He then talked about [how]America's preeminence in the world depended on the constant income – flow of newcomers to our country. And once we close the door to that, he said, ‘We will cease being preeminent in the world.' Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan. And he was a champion for immigration. So this is partially immigration.

It's other fears that they have – of women, LGBTQ, of African American [communities], newcomers to our country, people who don't look like them. But in their advocacy, they are undermining the possible further greatness of America. Whether we're talking about science that benefits from diversity, whether we're talking about education in our schools, where our children benefit from that diversity. It is most unfortunate that their insecurity [insecurities] stand in their way of being really, truly American. Because America is enhanced by the optimism, the hope, the determination, the courage of all people in our society, to rise up. This is ridiculous, this replacement theory.

And I commend, I commend Congressman Bowman for his leadership, his impatience with it all, his – and bringing it to the Floor as soon as possible. And I hope that people in our country – people of faith, people of patriotism, people [who]have love for our children and their future – will join him in rejecting and condemning this dangerous, dangerous theory.

And with that, I'm very pleased to yield to the distinguished Majority Leader who is bringing this legislation to the Floor, a champion on these issues in our country and globally, Steny Hoyer.