Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is facing backlash for comments he made over the weekend about reparations for descendants of people who were enslaved, with National Urban League President Marc H. Morial calling his remarks "bigoted" and "stunning" and NAACP President Derrick Johnson describing them as "utterly sickening."
During a rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday in Minden, Nevada, Tuberville, a retired college football coach, claimed that Democrats are "pro-crime" because "they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have. They want reparation because they think the people that do the crime are owed that. Bulls---t. They are not owed that."
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Morial called on every member of the Senate to "make it clear that Tuberville's repugnant views are unacceptable and must bear no influence on public policy. People of conscience can disagree on the best way to achieve economic justice after centuries of slavery, segregation, and discrimination. Sen. Tuberville has disqualified himself from serious discourse by smearing in the ugliest possible terms those who pursue racial justice and those to whom justice is owed."
Tuberville's Senate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. On Meet the Press Sunday, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) was asked about Tuberville's comments, and responded that he would have been more "polite" when discussing reparations. After being pressed, Bacon said, "I'm not going to say he's being racist. But I wouldn't use that language."
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