Tuberville defends post likening Mamdani to 9/11 attacks: 'I just go by his rhetoric'
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., on Tuesday sought to defend his social media post comparing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's rhetoric to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Tuberville shared a post last week that juxtaposed a photo of the terror attack on the Twin Towers with an image of Mamdani, who appeared to be hosting a Ramadan Iftar event at City Hall. An account called "End Wokeness" posted the images along with a message that read, "Less than 25 years apart."
"The enemy is inside the gates," Tuberville said on X in response to the image.
Asked to explain his post on the social platform X, Tuberville said, "I just go by his rhetoric."
"He’s made a lot of statements about his stance with Islam and radical Islam, all the things that go along with what he preaches every day. And I’m just kind of repeating what he’s saying," the senator told DC News Now’s Reshad Hudson.
"We don’t need a division in this country. We need everybody to go with the Constitution, understand we have moral values. And if we all stick with those –– I don’t care if you’re Muslim or Catholic or Baptist, it makes no difference," he continued.
He added, "We need to make the country better; we don’t need to divide it. That’s what he’s doing in New York."
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When asked about whether Muslim Americans in Alabama may find his post offensive, Tuberville said he has "some great Muslim friends" and that he spoke to "two Iranians in Alabama this past week about the war. Obviously, they’re Muslim."
"If you teach and preach Sharia law, if you bow down to the Quran, it teaches death to Americans. That don’t fly with me, okay?" he said, although the Quran makes no reference to the U.S. or Americans.
The Alabama lawmaker and former college football coach reiterated that he does not care about a person's religious background.
"Hey, you come be part of our country [and] don’t try to divide people, don’t try to push your culture — we already have a culture — [then] I’m all for you," he added.
Tuberville made several more social media posts on Tuesday targeting Islam.
"Radical Islam is the enemy of any freedom-loving American. The liberal media is running cover for Radical Islamists, but the Quran is pretty CLEAR on its instructions to KILL all non-Muslims," he said in one post.
"To anyone offended by me calling radical Islamic jihadists the enemy: If the shoe fits, wear it," he said in another post.
The senator's initial "the enemy is inside the gates" post, which was pinned to the top of his X account as of Wednesday morning, prompted a heavy rebuke from Democrats, including Mamdani, who is Muslim.
"Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers," Mamdani said on X in response to the senator's post.