Tommy Tuberville Says the Definition of White Nationalism Is an 'Opinion'

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville argued that the definition of white nationalism is "some people's opinion" while appearing on CNN Monday night, and instead described the term as a "cover word" for Democrats.

The Republican's remarks came in response to a question posed by CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who offered Tuberville a chance to clarify a statement he made during a May interview with Birmingham radio station WBHM. During the previous interview, Tuberville was asked if he believed white nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military, to which he responded, "I call them Americans."

"First of all, I'm totally against any type of racism," Tuberville said Monday. "I was a football coach for 40 years and had the opportunity to be around more minorities than anybody up on this Hill."

Senator Tommy Tuberville on Monday speaks to reporters in the Senate subway at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Alabama Republican later in the day tangled with CNN's Kaitlan Collins over the correct definition of white nationalism. Drew AngererTuberville Says/Getty Images

Tuberville continued to say that white nationalist was "just another word" that Democratic lawmakers like to use other than calling someone a racist, and reiterated that he was "totally against anything to do with racism."

"But the thing about being a white nationalist, it's just a cover word for the Democrats now where they can use it to try to make people mad across the country, identity politics," he added. "I'm totally against that."

Collins followed up on Tuberville's response by urging him to clarify his answer, asking if he agreed that white nationalists "should not be serving in the U.S. military." The CNN anchor also offered a definition to the term, defining a white nationalist as "someone who believes that the white race is superior to other races."

"Well, that's some people's opinion," Tuberville responded. "My opinion of a white nationalist—if somebody wants to call them a white nationalist—to me, is an American. Now, if that white nationalist is a racist, I'm totally against anything that they want to do, because I am 110 percent against racism."

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, white nationalist groups share the same ideology of white supremacists, "often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhite persons." The nonprofit also said that white nationalists' "primary goal" was to create a white "ethnostate," according to the definition provided on the group's website.

The European Center for Populism Studies provided a similar definition for the term, adding that most white nationalists "also believe that races form a normative hierarchy with whiteness at the top." According to the Anti-Defamation League, "white nationalist" was derived by groups of white supremacists to be used as another term for white supremacy, although some white supremacists "distinguish" it to mean "a form of white supremacy that emphasizes defining a country or region by white racial identity and which seeks to promote the interests of whites exclusively."

Collins again pushed back on Tuberville's answer during Monday's interview, arguing that the definition of white nationalism wasn't "identity politics" but was a term used for a person "who believes horrific things."

"Well, that's just a name that it's been given," Tuberville reiterated.

Newsweek reached out to Tuberville's office via email late Monday night for comment.

Tuberville also made headlines on Monday for blocking the Senate chamber from confirming the new head of the Marine Corps as a protest against the Pentagon's policy on reproductive health care. Earlier this year, the Defense Department announced that it would provide additional support to service members and their eligible dependents who have to travel out of state to receive an abortion.

Tuberville's home state of Alabama has banned the procedure following the overturn of Roe v. Wade unless the life and health of the mother is at risk. The state also does not allow an exception in cases of rape or incest, making it one of the strictest in the country.

While speaking with Collins, Tuberville said that since Republicans are the minority in the Senate, "the only power we have is to put a hold on something."

However, former Commandant of the Marine Corps General David Berger, who retired on Monday, told CNN before stepping down that he believes military officers should not be used as a protest by lawmakers.

"This needs to get resolved," Berger said. "We need to leave the military out of the politics of it."