On Monday night, Charles Barkley had a message for the voters of Alabama: Show the country "we're not a bunch of damn idiots" by electing Democrat Doug Jones to the Senate. After Jones' victory on Tuesday night, Barkley delivered another message, this time to the Democratic Party: "Start making life better for black folks and people who are poor."
The NBA legend and Alabama native spoke to CNN shortly after Jones won Tuesday night, saying he was "so proud of my state" because they "rose up today." By giving Jones a narrow victory — he defeated Republican Roy Moore by about 21,000 votes — it was a "wake-up call for Democrats," Barkley said, adding: "They've taken the black vote and the poor vote for granted for a long time. It's time for them to get off their ass and start making life better for black folks and people who are poor. They've always had our votes, and they've abused our votes, and this is a wake-up call. We're in a great position now, but this is a wake-up call for Democrats to do better for black people and poor white people."
Subscribe to 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.
-
How Poland became Europe's military powerThe Explainer Warsaw has made its armed forces a priority as it looks to protect its borders and stay close to the US
-
Quiz of The Week: 15 - 21 FebruaryHave you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Tash Aw picks his favourite booksThe Week Recommends From Baldwin to Chekhov, the Malaysian writer shares his top picks
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricingSpeed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
-
Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firingsSpeed Read Mass firings by Elon Musk's team have included employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic and US nuclear weapons programs
-
Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talksSpeed Read The US and Russia have agreed to work together on ending the Ukraine war — but President Trump has flipped America's approach
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security filesSpeed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretarySpeed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffsSpeed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams casespeed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chiefSpeed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
