MAGA Sen. Tommy Tuberville had a reporter thrown out of a campaign dinner Tuesday after being confronted with an embarrassing question.
The confrontation unfolded at Moe’s BBQ in Mobile, Alabama, where Tuberville directed staffers to remove Lagniappe Daily reporter Scott Johnson after he questioned the senator about his unfulfilled pledge to donate his congressional salary to veterans and their families, according to the Lagniappe Daily.
Tuberville, who is running for Alabama governor, is reported to have told staffers, “Get him out,” before Johnson left without incident.
“Alabama Republican gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville had law enforcement escort me out of tonight’s Mobile campaign event while I tried to ask him a question,” Johnson wrote on X following the incident.
Johnson told AL.com that he had received no media advisory before attending the gathering, which the Mobile County Republican Party had advertised as a public meet-and-greet.
Tuberville has regularly taken questions from journalists at similar campaign stops as he gears up for Alabama’s Nov. 3 gubernatorial election against former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.
Tuberville’s campaign, however, maintained that the gathering was not open to journalists.
“We’re not doing press today,” press secretary Jonathan Eberle said at the event. “We’re not taking questions.”
The incident centers on a promise Tuberville repeatedly made during his 2020 Senate campaign. At the time, he pledged to donate “every dime” of his $174,000 congressional salary to Alabama veterans, their widows and their children.
A Lagniappe Daily investigation published in June found no evidence that Tuberville had fulfilled the commitment, which would now amount to more than $1 million.
Campaign spokeswoman Mallory Jaspers told AL.com that security removed Johnson because the event was not open to the press, claiming that “he was told repeatedly.” She also said Johnson had not been informed about the event’s press restrictions because he had not contacted the campaign beforehand.
Johnson disputed that account, saying he had not been told to leave or informed that his attendance was prohibited.
“I introduced myself when I arrived and was not told that I could not be there,” Johnson told AL.com.
Tuesday’s confrontation came five days after Tuberville faced questions about the pledge at a campaign stop in Guntersville. During that appearance, he appeared to cite tax requirements as a reason he had not donated the money and challenged Jones to release what he described as his “bank returns.” He provided no evidence that he had honored his original commitment.
“I said that back in 2020, and I hope everybody believed it,” Tuberville told reporters at the Guntersville event, according to 1819 News.
Rather than addressing the issue during Tuesday’s campaign dinner, Tuberville used his speech to criticize the press, telling supporters that “the media stinks in this country.” He also claimed that “most of them” are “socialists, communists.”
“Just go out there and do your job,” Tuberville said, referring to journalists.
The Daily Beast has contacted Tuberville’s campaign for comment.
