"The killer is drawing from and adding to a growing online ecosystem and literature of white radicalization.
"In the U.S., that ecosystem gave us the Tree of Life massacre and the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, both of which were motivated—at least in part—by the fear that whites are in the process of being demographically outnumbered and replaced.
"Hence the chants in Charlottesville, of “Jews will not replace us! Blacks will not replace us! Immigrants will not replace us!”
"And yes, U.S. politicians and pundits feed that ecosystem, too. When Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham talk on Fox about Democrats trying to “replace” white voters with immigrants, they’re mainstreaming its rhetoric.
"When Rep. Steve King says “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” he’s mainstreaming its rhetoric. Candace Owens almost certainly isn’t inspiring anybody to kill, but she is guiding them toward the sorts of online discussions that lead to dark, dangerous places.
"And there’s our president himself. As the Christchurch shooter wrote in his Q&A:
Were/are you a supporter of Donald Trump?
As a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure. As a policy maker and leader? Dear god no.
Not a leader, but a useful symbol.