Tuberville defends controversial post comparing NYC Mayor Mamdani to 9/11
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On Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., attempted to defend a social media post comparing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Last week, Tuberville shared a post juxtaposing a photo of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers with a photo of Mamdani, who appeared to be hosting a Ramadan Iftar event at City Hall. An account called “End of Woke” posted the images along with a message that read: “Less than 25 years away.”
“The enemy is within the gates,” Tuberville said in response to the image on X.
Asked to explain his post on social platform X, Tuberville said: “I’m just going along with his rhetoric.”
GOP SENATOR GAINS DEM REACTION FOR ‘THE ENEMY IS WITHIN THE GATES’ COMMENT ABOUT NYC MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., defended a social media post comparing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to the 9/11 attacks. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“He’s made a lot of statements about his stance on Islam and radical Islam and a lot of things that align with what he preaches every day. And I kind of echo what he said,” the senator told DC News Now’s Reshad Hudson.
“We don’t need division in this country. We need everyone to abide by the Constitution, to understand that we have moral values. And if we all hold to those –– I don’t care if you’re Muslim, Catholic or Baptist, it doesn’t make any difference,” he continued.
“We need to make the country better; we don’t need to divide it. That’s what he’s doing in New York.”
REPUBLICAN SAYS ‘MUSLIMS DON’T BELONG TO THE AMERICAN SOCIETY’, GETTING A VIOLENT REACTION FROM THE DEMOCRATIC
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he doesn’t care about a person’s religious background. (Nathan Posner/Anatolia via Getty Images)
When asked whether Muslim Americans in Alabama might find his post offensive, Tuberville said he has “some great Muslim friends” and that he “talked to two Iranians in Alabama last week about the war. Frankly, they’re Muslims.”
“If you teach and preach Sharia law, if you bow to the Quran, that teaches Americans about death. That’s not for me, okay?” he said, but the Quran does not refer to the United States or Americans.
The Alabama lawmaker and former college football coach reiterated that he doesn’t care about a person’s religious background.
“Hey, come be a part of our country [and] Don’t try to divide people, don’t try to force your own culture – we already have a culture – [then] “I’m completely on your side,” he added.
Tuberville made several more social media posts targeting Islam on Tuesday.
The senator’s controversial comment drew criticism from Democrats, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“Radical Islam is the enemy of every freedom-loving American. Liberal media covers Radical Islamists, but the Quran is quite CLEAR about its instruction to KILL all non-Muslims,” he said in one post.
In another post, he said: “To everyone who is offended by my calling radical Islamic jihadists the enemy: If the shoe fits, wear it.”
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The senator’s initial “enemy is within the gates” post, pinned at the top of the X account on Wednesday morning, drew a harsh rebuke from Democrats, including Mamdani, who is Muslim.
“Let politicians in Washington be outraged when children go hungry, just as they are when I break bread with New Yorkers,” Mamdani said in response to the senator’s post on X.
