Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Alabama Republican who has repeatedly defended white nationalists, has argued he’s “against racism” because he’s “dealt with more minorities than everybody in this building.”
The senator was asked Tuesday by reporters on Capitol Hill to clarify mind-boggling remarks he made on CNN about white nationalists a day earlier.
“I am totally against any form of racism. I always have been. I was a football coach. I’ve dealt with more minorities than everybody in this building,” Tuberville told reporters. “I treated everybody with respect and made sure everybody had full opportunity.”
Critics were unimpressed by the senator’s adaptation of the “some of my best friends are Black” excuse, which is rooted in the myth that proximity to people of color somehow safeguards white people from holding racist attitudes about them.
Case in point: Tuberville’s history of racist commentary. In October, for example, he sparked uproar after he compared Black people to criminals. In May, he argued that “everybody’s an American” and “has opportunity to make this country better” when asked if he believes white nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military.
As for the controversial remarks in question this week, the senator said on CNN Monday that white nationalists are Americans that “have a few, probably different beliefs” and argued that it’s just “some people’s opinion” that white nationalists believe the white race is superior to other races. (It is not an opinion, it is the very definition.)
The senator had similarly referenced his college coaching days as an argument during Monday’s interview.
The Twitter brigade obviously had thoughts: