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'Look in a mirror': Internet slams Tommy Tuberville for 'insulting' US military

Tuberville expressed frustration over the administration's allocation of $114 million for DEIA programs

WASHINGTON, DC: In a fiery interview with Newsmax on November 27, Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, lambasted the state of the US military and the Biden administration, declaring it a "complete disaster."

Discontent over $114 million allocated to DEIA programs

Tuberville expressed frustration over the administration's allocation of $114 million for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) programs in the military for the fiscal year 2024, emphasizing his disbelief in spending such a significant amount on diversity training.

"$114 million on diversity training, you gotta be kidding me," Tuberville exclaimed during his appearance on Newsmax's 'Eric Bolling The Balance'.

The House Oversight Committee echoed his sentiments, stating last week that "the Biden Admin's focus on progressivism over warfighting continues to exacerbate the military recruiting crisis and calls into question our level of military preparedness."

Tuberville asserted, "We've got the weakest military that we've had in probably a year in my lifetime. Infiltrating our military is all this wokeness and it's coming from the top, coming from Joe Biden, coming from Secretary of Defense [Lloyd] Austin. … It's a disaster."

He also highlighted the impact of discharging service members who refused the Covid vaccine earlier in 2022.

"They can't get anybody, Eric, to join the military. They're begging people to come back that left because they didn't take the vaccine," Tuberville said and continued, "We're in huge trouble. Our country is in huge trouble."

"People better wake up and see what's going on. It is a disaster. What's going on just in our country, and then you as you brought up Israel is a mess, the Middle East, Ukraine is a mess. We're spending money right and left," he added.

"It is a complete disaster that the Biden administration has self-inflicted on the American taxpayer," he said.

Social media backlash

Critics, particularly Biden supporters, took to social media to condemn Tuberville's remarks.

"This is an insult to everyone who is currently serving, according to Tuberville, you are weak," one posted on X (formerly Twitter).

"Gee, I wonder why the hell that is. Look in a mirror, Tommy," another wrote.

"Tuberville really ought to be wearing a hot dog outfit when he’s talking about the military being weak," a comment read.

"Active duty service members put their lives on the line every day for very modest pay and a Senator has the audacity to disrespect them in public," someone else reacted.

"Sen. Tommy Tuberville complaining about a supposedly weak military is like an arsonist complaining about too many buildings being on fire. His lack of self-awareness is incredible. Or maybe it’s just gaslighting 101," another offered. 

Year-long senate blockade

The controversy surrounding Tuberville extends beyond this recent interview. For almost a year, the Alabama Senator has maintained a hold on hundreds of military nominations and promotions requiring Senate approval, a move that has frustrated colleagues on both sides of the aisle, according to The Week.

This unprecedented blockade, ostensibly driven by Tuberville's opposition to the Pentagon covering costs for military personnel traveling out of state for abortions, has raised concerns about the efficiency of the Senate's nomination process.

As the Senate's "reputation for collegiality" hangs in the balance, per ABC News's Tal Axelrod, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans to swiftly confirm the held-up military leaders before the year's end.

Schumer wrote a letter to Senate Democrats on November 26, detailing the intention to bypass Tuberville's obstruction through a party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate Rule Committee.

The Majority Leader criticized Tuberville's actions as "extreme and unprecedented obstruction," accusing him of eroding "centuries of Senate norms and injected extreme partisanship into what has long been a bipartisan process."