Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville was criticized after he suggested that Democrats promote crime and that the only reason they support reparations for the descendants of enslaved people is because “they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”
Tuberville made the controversial remark during a rally for former Republican President Donald Trump in Nevada on Saturday, October 8.
Republicans have continued to stress high rates of crime in the final weeks before next month's midterm elections even though data indicates that crime rates have slowed in the past year.
Moreover, while the GOP continues to equate Black people with criminality, data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shows White Americans commit the majority of crimes.
You can hear what Tuberville said in the video below.
\u201cWATCH: After Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville\u2019s (R) controversial remarks at a Trump rally, @kwelkernbc asks, \u201cDo his comments cross a racial line?\u201d\n\n@RepDonBacon: \u201cYeah, that\u2019s not the way I would present things. \u2026 I wouldn\u2019t use that language. Be more polite.\u201d\u201d— Meet the Press (@Meet the Press) 1665334806
Speaking of Democrats, Tuberville said:
“They’re not soft on crime. They’re pro-crime. They want crime."
"They want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have."
"They want reparation because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”
Tuberville's remarks have been widely condemned for their racism and inaccuracy. The Democratic Party has never taken a formal stance on reparations for Black Americans though some have backed the creation of a commission to evaluate the matter.
In response, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called Tuberville out for his "flat out racist, ignorant and utterly sickening" language.
The organization—one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States—also took Tuberville and Republicans to task for backing Trump's criminality:
"His words promote a centuries-old lie about Black people that throughout history has resulted in the most dangerous policies and violent attacks on our community."
"We've seen this before from the far-right, and we've seen what they can do when they take power."
"Next time the Senator wants to talk about crime, he should talk about Donald Trump's hate-fueled rally on January 6, 2021, and the attacks that followed. Perhaps the real criminals are in his orbit."
At least one Republican in Congress—Nebraska Representative Don Bacon—has spoken out against Tuberville, though Bacon rather impotently said he “wouldn’t say it the same way."
Bacon went on to suggest that Tuberville could have communicated his ideas differently because that is "not the way I present things" though he was emphatic in his belief that "we have a crime problem in our country.”
Tuberville's remarks soon went viral and he was harshly criticized.
\u201cWe already lead the world in incarceration but that\u2019s not enough for Republicans\u2014 they want Black people controlled, beaten down and locked up.\u201d— Laurence Cahill (@Laurence Cahill) 1665427268
\u201cDemocratic elected officials in Los Angeles engage in racist talk, and are widely condemned by other Democrats, Including Senator Alex Padilla. Tommy Tuberville makes a disgusting racist statement and a public event, and what do we hear from Republican elected officials? Nothing.\u201d— Norman Ornstein (@Norman Ornstein) 1665493706
\u201cTuberville and the Repubs have gone full \u201cWillie Horton\u201d on the crime mania. So giving reparations for the injustice of slavery is not ok cuz Black folks are criminals? #GOPRacistChatter https://t.co/6uSzUL9m9B\u201d— Reggie Harris (@Reggie Harris) 1665423557
\u201cHey, Tommy Tuberville/@TTuberville, you're a blatant racist and a Fascist. Resign. Now.\u201d— Dr. Jack Brown \ud83c\udf0a (@Dr. Jack Brown \ud83c\udf0a) 1665439922
\u201cTommy Tuberville's racist comments at GOP Rally in Nevada is only part of story. Why was a Senator from Alabama invited all the way to Nevada? Bc of his history of racism/bigotry. Nevada GOP candidates wanted him there to excite base with HATE. My CNN https://t.co/DqHW4aujWr\u201d— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@(((DeanObeidallah)))) 1665402091
\u201cTommy Tuberville thinks that African American\u2019s want reparations because \u201cthey think the people that do the crime are owed it."\n\nTell me you\u2019re super racist, without telling me.... nope, actually you just told me.\n\nMAGA cheers but of course.\u201d— The Jewish Ginger Resister (@The Jewish Ginger Resister) 1665285395
\u201cHere's the bottom line: Trump, Tuberville, Cruz, Graham, MTG, etc. aren't outliers in the Republican Party. They aren't the extremes in the Republican Party. They ARE the Republican Party. Republicans say racist, hateful things because that is what they believe.\u201d— Victor Shi (@Victor Shi) 1665421833
\u201cAnd perhaps the most infuriating thing about those Tuberville comments: we had Doug Jones sitting right there. Full of competence, reason and intellect. Not insider trading. Caring about people. Treating everyone decently. And Alabama voters chose this buffoon.\u201d— Josh Moon \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Josh Moon \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1665280915
\u201cRepublican Sen. Tommy Tuberville asserted that Democrats support reparations for the descendants of enslaved people because \u201cthey think the people that do the crime are owed that.\u201d\n\nThis is racism, plain and simple. https://t.co/12tznciLsn\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1665417778
Before Tuberville began a career in politics, he was a football coach at different universities across the south, including the University of Mississippi from 1995 to 1998 and Auburn University from 1999 to 2008.
During that time, he coached many Black athletes and his remarks have prompted suggestions that he was fine with profiting off their abilities while disregarding them as people.
Since taking office in early 2021, Tuberville has proven himself to be one of Trump's most loyal acolytes, openly promoting the "Big Lie" that Trump won the 2020 election he decisively lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
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