After initially refusing to denounce White nationalism ideology as racism, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has reversed his position on the subject, CNN reports.

Surrounded by reporters on Tuesday (July 11) on Capitol Hill, Tuberville finally said that “White nationalists are racist.”

“Listen, I’m totally against racism,” he told reporters. “And if the Democrats want to say White nationalists are racist, I’m totally against that too. … My definition is, racism is bad.”

During an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Monday (July 10), Tuberville doubled down on his previous comments where he defended White nationalism. When he was informed that a White nationalist believes that the White race is superior to all others, Tuberville said, “Well, that’s some people’s opinion.”

When asked what his opinion was, Tuberville said, “My opinion of a White nationalist, if someone wants to call them White nationalist, to me is an American.”

Tuberville's remarks garnered immediate criticism from Democratic leaders and even from some of his Republican colleagues.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – who previously called on Tuberville to denounce White nationalism as “un-American '' -- rebuked Tuberville again for his remarks in a speech from the Senate floor.

“Last night, given another chance to clear the air, he suggested that, no, White nationalists aren’t inherently racist. That yes, White nationalism is American. And that the definition of White nationalism is a matter of opinion,” Schumer said. “It’s hard to believe that the senator from Alabama has to be corrected again. The senator from Alabama is wrong, wrong, wrong. The definition of White nationalism is not a matter of opinion.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell described White nationalism as “unacceptable.”

“White supremacy is simply unacceptable in the military and in the whole country,” McConnell said.

“I am not sure exactly what he was trying to say there,” added South Dakota GOP Sen. John Thune, the chamber’s Minority Whip. “I mean, I would just say that there is no place for white nationalism in our party.”

Tuberville’s controversial statements on White nationalism began in May when he suggested that the Biden administration’s policy of diversifying the military was “weakening the force and hampering recruitment,” despite the Army acknowledging that the real issue is that many elective young people do not view the armed serves as a viable career choice.

“We are losing in the military so fast. Our readiness in terms of recruitment,” Tuberville said in an interview with WBHM. “And why? I’ll tell you why. Because the Democrats are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white extremists, the white nationalists, people that don’t believe in our agenda.”

When he was asked if white nationalists should be allowed in the military, Tuberville said, “Well, they call them that. I call them Americans.”

“Democrats portray all Trump people as white nationalists. That’s what I was saying,” he continued.“There’s a lot of good people that are Trump supporters that for some reason my Democratic colleagues want to portray as white nationalists. That’s not true.”

In addition to his views  on White nationalism, Tuberville has been criticized for holding up confirmations on general and flag officer nominations as a member of the Armed Services Committee “to protest the Defense Department's policy that covers certain abortion-related travel expenses for service members based in states with restrictive reproductive healthcare laws.”

“They were nominated, they weren’t elected. I was elected to represent the people of Alabama in this country,” Tuberville said.

“I’m a senator. I can hold any confirmation I want until we get some kind of confirmation of why you’re doing this,” he added.

Tuberville said that he will continue to exercise the hold until the Pentagon changes the policy or it is passed with new legislation.