Charles Barkley calls on Alabama voters to 'show we're not a bunch of damn idiots'
During a rally for Doug Jones in Birmingham on Monday, Alabama native Charles Barkley urged voters in the state to support the former federal prosecutor in his bid to become the first Democratic senator to represent the state since the 1990s.
"At some point, we got to stop looking like idiots to the nation," the NBA and Auburn University legend said. "I love Alabama, but at some point we got to draw a line in the sand and show we're not a bunch of damn idiots." Jones' opponent, Republican Roy Moore, has espoused controversial views on many topics and been accused by several women of groping them when they were teenagers and he was in his early 30s, and Barkley said he's "embarrassed" that Moore is even on the ballot. "If somebody told you guys, 'Put this election in a movie script' … you would throw it in the trash," he added. "You'd say there's no way possible this other dude could be leading in any polls."
Jones made a gentler appeal, telling supporters the election is "going to be one of the most significant in our state's history, and we've gotta make sure that at this crossroads in Alabama's history, we take the right road." Catherine Garcia
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
What would a UK deployment to Ukraine look like?Today's Big Question Security agreement commits British and French forces in event of ceasefire
-
Nicolás Maduro: from bus driver to Venezuela’s presidentIn the Spotlight Shock capture by US special forces comes after Maduro’s 12-year rule proved that ‘underestimating him was a mistake’
-
Artemis II: back to the MoonThe Explainer Four astronauts will soon be blasting off into deep space – the first to do so in half a century
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
