'He hasn't backtracked at all!' Morning Joe blasts Tommy Tuberville for defense of white nationalists
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) finally and grudgingly admitted that white nationalists might be racist, but MSNBC's Joe Scarborough wasn't impressed by his concession.
The Alabama Republican has repeatedly challenged the definition of white nationalism as a Democratic slur and questioned whether such views were inherently racist, but following intense criticism from colleagues on both sides of the aisle, he conceded that if someone believed whites were superior to other races and others determined that was a racist view, then he would agree.
"He still didn't say that white nationalists are racists, he says, 'Oh, if that's somebody's definition,'" Scarborough said. "But this guy has lived in the South for 50-something years -- 55, 56, 57 years -- he knows exactly what white nationalism is and he knows that white nationalists believe, that Black people and Hispanic people and anybody who's not white, they are inferior because of their race."
"He understands that, so I'm not exactly sure why he still has not said that white nationalists are racists," Scarborough added. "But this idea that he backtracked -- no, he hasn't backtracked at all."
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"Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski agreed, saying it's not plausible that a lifelong southerner would not be familiar with the concept of white nationalism and its inherent racism.
"I wish this was ignorance, that at least would explain it, if he was just stupid, was just a stupid man -- but he's not," Brzezinski said. "He has lived in that state for a long time, he has served the state, he has coached in the state. He knows exactly what he's saying, and he is speaking to white nationalists in that answer, sort of like [Donald Trump's signal to the Proud Boys], 'Stand back and stand by,' where you're nonsensical but speaking to them."
"He knows the definition, and he will not condemn white nationalism -- that's the bottom line," Brzezinski added. "It's not ignorance, this was his point. The cruelty and the white nationalism was the point here."
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07 12 2023 06 39 22 youtu.be