Here’s what Sen. Tommy Tuberville actually said about White nationalists

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Alabama Republican, does not consider himself to be a racist – which is an important place to start from since you’re about to hear quite a bit about his apparent defense of White nationalists, who he suggested Monday might not be racist either.

By Tuesday, Tuberville had backtracked, telling reporters on Capitol Hill – but off camera – that, indeed, “White nationalists are racists.”

His Tuesday cleanup notwithstanding, it’s worth taking a closer look at Tuberville’s full exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on her show, “The Source,” because it is a window into the thoughts and motivations of a US senator who is currently holding up promotions at the Pentagon for hundreds of senior leaders.

That separate, solo obstruction has left the US Marine Corps without a Senate-approved commandant for the first time in more than a century.

The Monday CNN interview was an incredible exchange, which began as an opportunity for Tuberville to explain his Pentagon obstruction as a protest of Biden administration abortion policy. More on that below.

In the White nationalism portion of the interview, Tuberville was being asked to explain comments he made to an Alabama radio station back in May, when he was asked if he thought White nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military.

“Well, they call them that,” Tuberville said back then of people who oppose White nationalists. “I call them Americans.”

RELATED: Who are White nationalists and what do they want?

Factually, it’s true that there are Americans who are White nationalists. It’s also true that there have been warnings from the Pentagon about White nationalists serving in the military.

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