Tuberville says he is ‘excited’ Trump is running; Calls McConnell ‘a good leader’ | #elections | #alabama

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) confirmed Thursday that he will continue to support Donald Trump in the former president’s recently-announced bid for president in 2024.

“I am excited President Trump is running,” Tuberville said in a call with reporters. “He is an outsider. He understands the scheme. He’s very outspoken, sometimes too much, but I think what he did for us in just a short period of time is amazing, and as we go through this process right now, I’m totally on his side.”

Tuberville expressed contempt for the policies pushed by Democrats over the last two years, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which he said does nothing to combat inflation. He also accused the Democrats of contributing to the stark rise in crime and gas prices.

He suggested that these issues led to the Republicans winning the House of Representatives in last week’s elections.

Though Republicans expected to take control of the Senate, they fell short with an underwhelming performance at the polls. 

The December 6 runoff election in Georgia will determine the last remaining spot in the Senate. If Republican Herschel Walker defeats Incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), the Senate will be split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. 

However, the power of a tie-breaking vote in the Senate will be left up to Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, giving the Democrats a slight advantage.

“This administration and Democrats in congress have completely ignored the difficult reality facing America every day,” Tuberville said. “That’s why voters have given Republicans a power as a check to the president.”

Despite continued support for Trump, Tuberville was vocal about his support for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who was re-elected to his position by the Senate Republican Caucus on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senator-elect Katie Britt, who will replace U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) in 2023, would not specify who she voted for in Wednesday’s leadership election.

Trump has had repeated clashes with McConnell over the years. After the GOP’s lackluster performance last week, Trump blamed McConnell for “blowing” the landslide Republican victory expected by many conservatives around the country.

Other conservatives have also criticized McConnell.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also accused McConnell of hindering the party’s election performance by “abandoning” Blake Masters in the Arizona Senate race because Masters vowed to vote against McConnell. Cruz said that McConnell “would rather the Democrat win.”

Nevertheless, Tuberville said that he was one of McConnell’s first supporters and that, though he doesn’t always agree with what McConnell does or says, he believes the Kentucky Republican will be able to lead the Senate GOP to defend against left-wing policies pushed by Democrats.

“Any time that [McConnell] has done something that I didn’t agree with that I thought would affect the people of Alabama, I told him, and he listened,” Tuberville said. “I think that’s a voice of a good leader.”

Tuberville condemned the intra-party strife amongst Republicans and said that if Americans elect Trump in 2024, he and McConnell would have to put their differences aside.

“I think if Trump were to get elected again, I think there would be better working relationships,” Tuberville said. “There’d have to be.”

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email will.blakely@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.

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