Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville is the subject of harsh criticism in the wake of controversial comments regarding the definition of a “white nationalist.”

Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” Monday night, Tuberville was asked about earlier comments he made when he was asked if he supported white nationalists in the military and responded: “They (the Biden administration) call them that. I call them Americans.”

When asked if he agreed that white nationalists should not be serving in the U.S., Tuberville responded:

“If people think that a white nationalist is a racist, I agree with that,” Tuberville responded.

Collins then defined “white nationalist” as “someone who believes that the white race is superior to other races.”

“Well, that’s some people’s opinion,” Tuberville replied.

You can read the Tuberville’s complete comments here.

Tuberville’s comments have prompted widespread outrage:

From CNN’s Jake Tapper:

“He seems to be trying to parse between people who are abject racists like members of the Ku Klux Klan and people who are merely white nationalist who believe in the supremacy of white people but this is not a distinction without a difference. It doesn’t make much sense.

“His comments make more sense when you consider what he said in October at a campaign rally, the most abjectly racist thing I’ve heard from a U.S. senator in decades. I’m quoting here, he said… ‘Democrats,’ quote, ‘want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”

Mark Hertling, former Commanding General of United States Army Europe.

Author Stephen King

Whoopi Goldberg on “The View.”

“So, in fact, he is — he doesn’t care about the country. He’s — he wants to make sure everybody knows where his personal stance is, because you’re elected to join a large group of people from diverse backgrounds who think lots of different things but there’s certain things you have to do. You can’t mess with the military because you don’t like some of their policies. But it’s only the women’s policies that you’re not digging and that, to me, is doubly annoying.”

Joyce Vance, former U.S.  attorney for the Northern District of Alabama

NAACP