GOP senator mocked for kissing up to Trump

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is trending online, but for reasons he would probably not prefer: The former football coach is being relentlessly mocked for transparently kissing up to President Donald Trump on Presidents Day.

In addition to posting a picture of Mount Rushmore with Trump’s face added to those of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, Tuberville posted on Twitter/X, “As we reflect on our nation’s greatest presidents, it’s hard to think of a President who has been more influential in modern history than President Trump. Petition to rename today as ‘President Donald J. Trump Day’?”

For this post, the former Auburn University coach and current Alabama gubernatorial candidate is being roundly roasted, as reported by The Daily Beast’s Leigh Kimmins. Author Kirk Walden posted on social media “Coach, no. Just no. We’re talking about George Washington. Who was willing to give his life for an idea that would change civilization forever. Who led our country from nothing to a Constitution. Let’s never gloss over his name.”

Journalist John Harwood was less generous, writing that it is “hard to think of a senator more embarrassing in modern history than Tommy Tuberville.” New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof compared Tuberville to the "bootlickers" who surrounded “Chairman Mao," while Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle simply snapped “Get off your knees Tommy. You’re pathetic."

Aside from parting ways with Trump on whether soccer or American football should be called “football,” Tuberville is otherwise notorious for glazing the president. He blamed the “radical left” for recent reports on Trump’s cankles, called for Trump to receive a Nobel Peace Prize and in general focusing on “owning the libs.” Tuberville has also been accused of being a “useful idiot” for Trump’s attempts to remake America’s democratic government into one responsive to him personally.

"Idiots can still be useful idiots," author Sidney Blumenthal wrote regarding the underlying motivations behind Tuberville's months-long obstruction of military promotions. "There are larger purposes involved in his scam kulturkampf. His subversion of the military is not just collateral damage. It is not the unintended consequence, but the overriding motive. His abortion ban is both context and pretext. Tuberville has opened Trump’s strategy for a second term to replace the professional class of officers pledged to the constitution with a collection of flunkies who will salute his command, legal or not."

Tuberville has also been accused of using racist rhetoric about issues like crime, such as in his 2025 comments about the Alabama city of Montgomery.

“We are not a third world country,” Tuberville said in a video statement. “But Montgomery has been turned into a war zone. We must take ACTION to keep Alabamians safe.”

He added that “residents need to feel safe in our capital city, and right now that is not the case.” and that he would help make the downtown area a “safe zone.”