The controversy erupted after Tuberville reposted a side-by-side image of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosting a Ramadan meal inside City Hall. The image included the caption: “The enemy is inside the gates.” The post surfaced just hours before news broke of terrorist attacks at Temple Israel and Old Dominion University.
Democrats, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, blasted Tuberville’s remarks as “Islamophobic” and demanded he apologize. Tuberville, however, stood firm during his appearance on The Todd Starnes Show.
“I don’t have any regrets whatsoever, Todd. Thanks for having me on. I meant every word I said,” Tuberville declared.
The senator tied his warning to broader national security concerns, pointing to unrest abroad and what he described as unchecked migration under previous administrations.
“There’s a reason we’re over in Iran right now, trying to free a country that has been taken hostage for the last 47 years,” Tuberville said. “President Trump’s doing the world a favor. Not just doing our country a favor.”
He then sharpened his criticism of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
“As you’ve had on your screen there, the enemy is inside our gates. We got them here. Joe Biden and Barack Obama brought them here by the thousands. It’s a disgrace,” Tuberville said.
Tuberville went further, arguing that individuals who promote Sharia law have no place in the United States.
“If you preach or teach Sharia law, you need to go home. You don’t fit in the United States of America. We’re a Christian country,” he said.
The Alabama lawmaker accused Democrats of weaponizing immigration policy for political gain.
“The Muslims are the voters of the future for the Democratic Party,” Tuberville said. “I’m gonna tell it like it is, Todd, and I’ve done that since I’ve been here and I’m not backing off now.”
When Starnes referenced Gillibrand’s rebuke — calling Tuberville’s remarks “disgraceful and unbecoming of a Senator” — Tuberville responded by warning that the United States is on the brink of deeper conflict if immigration enforcement is not tightened.
“Open gates, globalists, let everybody in for four years, not knowing who they are,” he said. “They’re building cells all over the country. We got a fight on our hands coming, Todd.”
Tuberville pointed to developments in Europe as a cautionary tale.
“If you just look at what’s happened to Europe … to ever get their country back the way it used to be 10, 15, 20 years ago, they’re going to fight in the streets,” he said. “Do we want to wait till we have to fight in the streets or do we want to kick them out now and say enough?”
The senator also criticized media coverage of an Islamic academy in Alabama, saying local residents successfully blocked its expansion over concerns about its teachings.
“They went to a school board member and said no more expansion of this school. They’re teaching Sharia law. They’re going by the Quran,” Tuberville said. “We’re not stupid. We actually can read.”
Tuberville praised community members who opposed the expansion and signaled that, if he seeks higher office in Alabama, he would take a hard line.
“Hopefully I’ll be the future governor of the state of Alabama and I won’t give them every opportunity to leave — go somewhere else,” he said. “We’re not going to do that in the state of Alabama.”
The senator also highlighted the actions of ROTC cadets who reportedly subdued a gunman at Old Dominion University.
“ROTC kids … they saved people’s lives,” Tuberville said. “It’s time to quit worrying about getting reelected and talk about the things that we need to save this country.”
Calling radical Islam “at the top of the list,” Tuberville concluded with a stark warning.
“We have to wake up now,” he said. “They want a caliphate in this country and they want to kill every American. They do not want to assimilate — and we’ve got to talk about it.”
Todd Starnes is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author, and host of The Todd Starnes Radio Show.
