February 4, 2020

“God Sent Us Donald Trump,” GOP Senate Candidate Tommy Tuberville Says

Tommy Tuberville/YouTube

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Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.), one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection this year, faces a difficult impeachment vote as he tries to retain his seat in a state Trump won by 28 points. On Tuesday, Jones said he had “tentatively” made a decision on how he would vote, though he didn’t say what that decision was.

One of Jones’ potential Republican opponents is having a much easier time making up his mind on Trump. In a new TV ad, former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville describes himself as a no-nonsense Christian conservative who believes that “God sent us Donald Trump because God knew we were in trouble.” It’s a sentiment that Tuberville has expressed before, on an Alabama radio show. 

Jones will face a difficult test following the contentious Republican primary, which also includes religious extremist Roy Moore—who lost his 2017 bid for the seat amid sexual misconduct allegations (Moore denied the accusations)—and former Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who held Jones’ seat for two decades. One December poll, by JMC Analytics and Polling, found that Tuberville leads Jones by 7 points. Another December poll—which Trump tweeted out in late January with the words “I LOVE ALABAMA!”—showed that Sessions with a narrow lead over Tuberville in the GOP primary.

In the ad, Tuberville promises to support Trump’s efforts to build a wall on the southern border. He’s previously taken that nativist rhetoric even further, promising to “fight against the invasion of illegal aliens into our country.”

“I’m not looking for a career,” Tuberville says in the ad, just before it cuts to footage of him carrying a gun and wearing hunting gear. “I’m looking to save this country with Donald J. Trump.” But from who?

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In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

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