MSNBC contributor Trymaine Lee slammed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for calling the man who murdered three black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville a “scumbag,” claiming that doing so only blames the individual who committed the shooting – which he claimed was a bad thing.
During remarks addressing the shooting, DeSantis had said, “This shooting, based on the manifesto that they’ve discovered from the scumbag that did this, was racially motivated.
“We condemn what happened in the strongest possible terms. We’ve offered support for Sheriff Waters in the city of Jacksonville, and we send our condolences to the victims and their families who were the victims of a very cowardly act,” DeSantis added.
Lee criticized DeSantis’ remarks during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” saying that “so many folks” had a problem with the language because “it places the onus on one individual and the actions of one individual as opposed to a nationwide sickness of White supremacy in this country and the violence it fuels.”
“And so long as he is a scumbag or as long as there’s a mental health issue, you don’t have to engage with the idea that there are, you know, co-conspirators online, there are co-conspirators who create legislation that divide, and other people,” Lee added. “There are all these other forces that are contributing to this kind of violence, but as long as it’s the act of one individual, it’s just a scumbag, then you don’t take the true issue head on.”
MSNBC attacks DeSantis for calling the Jacksonville shooter a "scumbag." Seriously. Trymaine Lee: "it places the onus on one individual and the actions of one individual as opposed to a nationwide sickness of white supremacy in the country and the violence it fuels." pic.twitter.com/IZKMGqAgU9
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) August 29, 2023
