WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) took heat on the U.S. Senate floor Tuesday for comments he made about White nationalists in the military, including calling them “Americans.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the Senate floor to scold Tuberville for defending “the meaning of White nationalism.”
Tuberville, a former college football coach, has been blamed for blocking President Joe Biden’s U.S. military nominees — a move that officials warned could have a broad impact.
Schumer said Tuberville’s comments were ““very, very dangerous,” and called on Republican Senate leaders to convince Tuberville to apologize for his controversial remarks, citing recent interviews where the first-term Republican senator made the comments.
One of those interviews was in May. During a discussion on military staffing with an Alabama radio station, Tuberville, referring to White nationalists, said “I call them Americans.”
Tuberville also suggested White nationalists should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military — if they aren’t racist.
On Monday, CNN asked Tuberville about his controversial statement, to which he replied, “If we are going to do away with most White people in this country out of the military, we’ve got huge problems.”
“If racism is one of those beliefs (of White nationalists), I’m totally against it. I’m totally against racism,” he added.
Last year, Tuberville made racially-charged comments during an election rally in Las Vegas attended by former President Donald J. Trump. Tuberville told the audience that Democrats are “pro-crime” and support people who feel they are owed “reparations.”
More about Tuberville’s controversial remarks can be found here.
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