United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) is doubling down on shocking comments made earlier this year in which he said white nationalism was just another term for “American.”
“Do you believe they should allow white nationalists in the military?” the host from WBHM, an affiliate of NPR, asked the Senator in May.
“Well, they call them that. I call them Americans,” Tuberville said in May.
On Monday, Tuberville appeared on The Source, where CNN host Kaitlan Collins gave Tuberville a chance to clarify his earlier comments. The former Auburn Tigers coach instead doubled down on his defense of white nationalists.
Collins: "A white nationalist is racist, Senator."@SenTuberville: "Well, that's your opinion." pic.twitter.com/iTI4BgLaR0
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 11, 2023
“A white nationalist is someone who believes that the white race is superior to other races,” Collins told Tuberville after an exchange in which Tuberville claimed that his college coaching career meant he had been among minorities more than any other legislator on Capitol Hill.
“My opinion of a white nationalist — if somebody wants to call them a white nationalist — to me, is an American. It’s an American,” he said. “Now, if that white nationalist is a racist, I’m totally against anything that they want to do, because I am 110% against racism.”
When Collins said that a white nationalist is inherently racist due to them believing in the superiority of the white race, Tuberville labeled that as an opinion.
“Well, that’s your opinion. That’s your opinion,” he said.
The world was quick to react to the shocking comments:
Literally advocating openly for white nationalism at this point, but it is instructive to see how even the most racist people in the country don't like to be thought of as racist. https://t.co/2GbwLVgH2m
— A.R. Moxon (juliusgoat.bsky.social) (@JuliusGoat) July 11, 2023
Stunning. Appears we have to educate @SenTuberville on the meaning of a white nationalist. TY @kaitlancollins for trying.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
White nationalist: one of a group of militant white people who espouse white supremacy and advocate enforced racial segregation https://t.co/nl817Op24t— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 11, 2023
Buried lede here is that Tuberville seems to be arguing that banning white nationalists from serving would “do away with most white people” in the military https://t.co/yjh0ODbD5s
— bryan metzger (@metzgov) July 11, 2023
I’ll be honest, not sure it’s the best decision to end the entire interview (‘thank you for your time’) just moments after the interviewee (a sitting United States Senator) has just suggested that a white nationalist isn’t a racist. Personally, I would have kept going. https://t.co/HdXMkmtSa4
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) July 11, 2023
https://twitter.com/JalenElrod/status/1678598273458745344
