More than two days have passed since a white domestic terrorist murdered three Black Floridians in Jacksonville on Saturday.
Ryan Palmeter, a 21-year-old white supremacist, killed himself shortly after carrying out the attack. Palmeter initially attempted to access an HBCU, but was blocked by security. He then entered a nearby Dollar General and began opening fire.
The attack took the lives of Angela Michelle Carr, 52; “A.J.” Laguerre Jr., 19; and Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29.
Shortly after the attack, Biden issued a statement condemning the murders and calling out the threat of white supremacy.
“Even as we continue searching for answers, we must say clearly and forcefully that white supremacy has no place in America,” Biden said.
“We must refuse to live in a country where Black families going to the store or Black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin. Hate must have no safe harbor. Silence is complicity and we must not remain silent.”
Biden’s statement was followed by widespread condemnation from political leaders of both parties nationwide. Some leaders, however, have not yet been as vocal. The Black Wall Street Times reviewed social media pages and weekend TV interviews from major GOP presidential candidates for statements on the Jacksonville white domestic terrorist attack.
How each major GOP candidate for President has responded to the Jacksonville attack
Doug Burgum has not made a public statement on his social media pages. The Black Wall Street Times was unable to find a statement from Burgum on the Jacksonville attack in recent interviews.
Chris Christie has not made a public statement on his social media pages. The Black Wall Street Times reviewed video from two interviews Christie conducted over the weekend and found no mention of the attack.
Ron DeSantis, the GOP Governor of Florida, called the Jacksonville shooter a “deranged scumbag”. DeSantis lamented the fact that the shooter “took the coward’s way out” and killed himself before police arrived. At a vigil for the shooting, by members of the Jacksonville community booed DeSantis during his speech. The boos were so loud that a local city councilor had to take the mic from DeSantis to ask the crowd to let him finish his remarks.
Angie Nixon, a Florida state legislator who represents Jacksonville, said DeSantis has “blood on his hands”. “We have repeatedly told him what his rhetoric was going to do,” Nixon said in a tearful MSNBC interview. “And that is exactly what transpired.”
Nikki Haley has also made no mention of the attack on her social media. Over much of the weekend, Haley was instead making statements “warning” Americans of the possibility of “a Kamala Harris Presidency”.
Haley did address the issue when asked about it in a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt. Hewitt, a conservative pundit, asked Haley why these racist shootings “keep happening on the political fringes of the far-right”. Haley said there was “no place for hate of any kind” in America. The former South Carolina Governor said it is the responsibility of every American to see others as “a child of God”.
Will Hurd has not made a public statement on his social media pages. The Black Wall Street Times reviewed video from an interviews Hurd conducted over the weekend and found no mention of the attack. Hurd has been one of the more outspoken Republicans when it comes to issues of white supremacy. The former Congressman urged Trump to apologize in 2017 for his “good people on both sides” comment in the wake of Charlottesville. Hurd also called out the “racism” of his former House colleague Steve King in 2019.
Asa Hutchinson has not posted any statement on social media, but did comment on the shooting during a CNN interview. Hutchinson said he has “seen white supremacy in action” and “anytime there is hate actions… we have to make sure that’s something we’re not going to tolerate in America”. Hutchinson also referenced he signed Arkansas’ first hate crimes bill into law as Governor, “making sure there are extra penalties for those that commit crimes in the name of racial hatred”.
Mike Pence reposted an interview with Face The Nation on Sunday where he called the shooting “an act of evil”. “There is no place in America for racially inspired violence and I condemn what took place in Jacksonville,” Pence said. The former Vice President called for an “expedited death penalty” for mass shootings as a possible solution. However, a 2014 FBI report shows more than half of all “active shooter” situations already end in the shooter’s death. The Jacksonville attacker took his own life.
Vivek Ramaswamy made no official statement on his social media platforms, but did address the shooting in a CNN interview. When Dana Bash asked Ramaswamy for his reaction to the shooting, Ramaswamy called it “a tragedy”, “wrong” and said “my heart goes out to the families.” Ramaswamy went on to call the shooting evidence of a “mental health epidemic” and said the U.S. should “bring back… psychiatric institutions”. In an interview with Chuck Todd on Sunday, Ramaswamy also made mention of crime on the south-side of Chicago when discussing the Jacksonville attack. These comments came days after Ramaswamy downplayed the growing threat of white supremacy in America.
Tim Scott said on X (formally known as Twitter) he was “devastated by the news”. The Senator from South Carolina went on to say “there is nothing more hateful than murdering someone because of the color of their skin; violence of any kind has no place in our country.”
Francis Suarez has not made any public statements since failing to qualify for the first debate last week.
Donald Trump: The Black Wall Street Times was not able to find any public statement from GOP Presidential frontrunner Trump regarding the Jacksonville shooting. This includes the former president’s website, which seems to only contain a page urging donations to cover Trump’s legal fees.