“God Sent Us Donald Trump,” GOP Senate Candidate Tommy Tuberville Says

Tommy Tuberville/YouTube

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Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.), one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection this year, faces a difficult impeachment vote as he tries to retain his seat in a state Trump won by 28 points. On Tuesday, Jones said he had “tentatively” made a decision on how he would vote, though he didn’t say what that decision was.

One of Jones’ potential Republican opponents is having a much easier time making up his mind on Trump. In a new TV ad, former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville describes himself as a no-nonsense Christian conservative who believes that “God sent us Donald Trump because God knew we were in trouble.” It’s a sentiment that Tuberville has expressed before, on an Alabama radio show. 

Jones will face a difficult test following the contentious Republican primary, which also includes religious extremist Roy Moore—who lost his 2017 bid for the seat amid sexual misconduct allegations (Moore denied the accusations)—and former Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who held Jones’ seat for two decades. One December poll, by JMC Analytics and Polling, found that Tuberville leads Jones by 7 points. Another December poll—which Trump tweeted out in late January with the words “I LOVE ALABAMA!”—showed that Sessions with a narrow lead over Tuberville in the GOP primary.

In the ad, Tuberville promises to support Trump’s efforts to build a wall on the southern border. He’s previously taken that nativist rhetoric even further, promising to “fight against the invasion of illegal aliens into our country.”

“I’m not looking for a career,” Tuberville says in the ad, just before it cuts to footage of him carrying a gun and wearing hunting gear. “I’m looking to save this country with Donald J. Trump.” But from who?

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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