Republican Senator Says Democrats Want Reparations For The People That “Do The Crime”

On Saturday, first-term Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville gave a racist speech at a rally in rural Nevada alongside former President Donald Trump. Tuberville, who hails from Alabama, made the remarks just weeks before the November 8th elections where control of Congress is up for grabs.

His disparaging remarks took aim at Black people and perpetuated the dangerous stereotype that we are the group of people solely responsible for committing crime.

Tuberville stated that Democrats are “not soft on crime” and “they’re pro-crime.” He continued:

“They want crime. They want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have. They want reparations, because they think the people that do the crime are owed that! Bullsh**! They are not owed that.”

Of course, these statements received cheers from the audience despite them being factually inaccurate. Not only has crime slowed down over the last year but most of it is committed by white people, FBI data shows.

Tuberville, a former Auburn University head football coach, worked with numerous Black athletes for years and commentator Jemele Hill made this powerful observation:

“A reminder that Tommy Tuberville was a collegiate coach for nearly 30 years, during which he coached scores of Black players. He made millions off their abilities, but here’s what he really thinks about Black folks.”

In addition, the Democratic Party hasn’t actually made a decision about Black folks receiving reparations. However, President Joe Biden does support the creation of a national commission to analyze to the topic.

In 2011, Tuberville went on Fox News to support Trump’s racist birtherism campaign launched at former president Barack Obama. “There’s got to be something on [the birth certificate] that he doesn’t want anybody to see,” he said.

He has also made statements accusing immigrants of bringing “drugs” and “diseases” into America. Tuberville’s words are disgusting but hardly surprising—the GOP knows exactly how to appeal to their base.