MAGA-aligned U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Sunday wrote on social media: “Islam is not a religion. It’s a cult. Islamists aren’t here to assimilate. They’re here to conquer. Stop worrying about offending the pearl clutchers. We’ve got to SEND THEM HOME NOW or we’ll become the United Caliphate of America.”
While many MAGA supporters and influencers on X are thanking the former college football coach for his comments, including MAGA-aligned influencer and purported “Trump whisperer” Laura Loomer (“Thank you Senator Tuberville!! We need President Trump to say this exact statement! Islam is a cult! Send them all back home!”), others are vehemently objecting.
Thank you Senator Tuberville!! @SenTuberville
We need President Trump to say this exact statement!
Islam is a cult! Send them all back home!
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 14, 2025
Muslim Matters, the non-profit organization “covering faith, spirituality, society, culture, life – dedicated to the voices of Muslims” replied to Tuberville: “Tommy Tuberville, you should have stuck to football because you are unfit for office. Which Senator would say things about a faith practiced by 2 billion people?”
This is so vile and so un-American.
And calling our founder fathers – who would cringe at this kind of bigoted zealotry – “pearl clutchers” is a twist. https://t.co/KxDgyR3aLH
— Chris Murphy
(@ChrisMurphyCT) December 15, 2025
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) also responded to Tuberville: “This is so vile and so un-American. And calling our founder fathers – who would cringe at this kind of bigoted zealotry – ‘pearl clutchers’ is a twist.”
Note: Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is running against Tuberville in the 2026 gubernatorial election — a rematch of their 2020 Senate contest. (Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, is term-limited.)
The Bulwark wrote about Jones running in the deep-red South: “If any Dem can be governor of Alabama, it’s this guy.”
[Note: According to the World Population Review, Alabama’s Muslim population is almost 24,000 people (about 0.5% of the state population).]
