Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) passed up the chance Monday to condemn white nationalism, instead claiming that it is merely one’s “opinion” that white nationalists are racist.
Appearing on CNN’s The Source, Tuberville was asked about a May NPR radio interview in which he called white nationalists “Americans.”
Tuberville insisted that he is “totally against any type of racism,” offering up his career as a football coach—at one point at Auburn University—as proof.
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Tuberville then took issue with how the term ‘white nationalist’ is used.
“The thing about being a ‘white nationalist’—it’s just a cover word for the Democrats now where they can use it to try to make people mad across the country. Identity politics: I’m totally against that,” Tuberville complained.
Anchor Kaitlan Collins then sought clarification, asking him if he believes that white nationalists should be kept out of the armed forces.
But Tuberville couldn’t give a clear answer.
“If people think a white nationalist is a racist, I would agree,” he said.
When Collins responded by describing such a person as one “who believes that the white race is superior to other races,” Tuberville blurted out: “Well, that’s some people’s opinion.”
“My opinion of a white nationalist—if somebody wants to call them a white nationalist—to me, it is an American,” Tuberville reiterated. “Now, if that white nationalist is a racist, I’m totally against anything that they want to do. Because I am 110 percent against racism.”
Later in the interview, Tuberville seemed to suggest that he believes that white nationalists are simply white people.
“So, if you’re going to do away with most white people in this country out of the military, we got huge problems,” the senator said.
“It’s not people who are white,” Collins corrected. “It’s white nationalists. You see the distinction, right?”
Tuberville went on to repeat his opposition to racism.
On Monday, Tuberville blocked a Senate vote on a replacement for Gen. David Berger, who retired as commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps—leaving the post empty for the first time since before the Civil War. For months, Tuberville has slow-rolled military post nominations because he doesn’t like how the Pentagon last October committed to paying the travel costs for service members and their dependents obtaining abortions in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned.
Yet Tuberville told Collins that he’s still firmly supportive of the military.
“There is nobody more military than me,” he declared.
