Criticism of his past commentary ahead of a potential run for U.S. Senate in 2026 is coming from "low-level politicians and the operatives," according to Paul Finebaum.
A recent Fox News report raised questions about some of his past comments about President Donald Trump and Black Lives Matter.
The report cited various past quotes Finebaum made, like in 2016, when he apologized after stating that "this country is not oppressing black people," or in 2017, when he said President Donald Trump "does behave like a child."
Finebaum also praised then-Alabama coach Nick Saban in 2020 for encouraging masking and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic and leading his team in a Black Lives Matter march.
Finebaum defended his previous comments during an interview on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show on Monday.
"But what also happens when you're under that microscope and every single thing you have said gets recorded and regurgitated is you have to answer for a lot of things," Finebaum said. "And that's really where I am right now because all the low-level politicians and the operatives are saying, 'Well, you said this about the president and you once said this about Nick Saban.' I've actually been criticized, Clay, for this: Nick Saban came out in 2020 and said that he did a public service ad for during COVID for masking and social distancing. And then he marched with his players during a BLM march. I praised him. And you know why I praised him? Forget the politics of it. Ed Ogeron did not do that. He lost his team, his locker room, and ultimately got fired. And those are the things that people are trying to keep me out of the race for. Criticizing the president once during a debate with Stephen A. Smith and praising Nick Saban. I don't know if I can win on the debate with Stephen A. Smith, but I'll take my shots on praising Nick Saban in the state of Alabama."
Finebaum said he'd decide whether to enter the race for U.S. Senate after the college football season ends.
"First of all, it came to be a reality when a couple of very influential people reached out to me just about the time that Bruce Pearl chose not to run. There was an evolution, and I started it back in May when President Trump came to Tuscaloosa, and I said in an interview, 'President Trump, while you were there, please talk Nick Saban into running for the open seat vacated by Coach Tuberville.' Saban obviously chose not to," Finebaum said. "Pearl was next, and after Bruce Pearl dropped out and decided not to do it. The same group, I believe, very unhappy with a rather meager field in Alabama, came to me, and I was thinking about it, and then September 10 happened, Clay, and that was, of course, as everyone listening knows, when Charlie Kirk was tragically assassinated. It got me thinking, and as I alluded to in the aftermath of our conversation, and I talked to a number of people, including my close friend and co-worker, Tim Tebow, who was very close to Charlie, and it inspired me to want to keep moving forward.
He continued, "We had our conversation, and naturally, there was a reaction, but the typical reaction as well from the low-level political types who tried to drive me out of the race even before I had gotten in, and then a number of other people kept saying, 'You have to make a decision, you can't wait.' And just to finally circle this all around, Clay, you know what's going on in Alabama and everywhere in the country right now, we're in the middle of the college football season, and I simply couldn't walk away, and I've had a number of people say, listen, if you don't get in by November 1, November 10, we're going to move on, and I've said, 'Well, you're going to have to, because I'm not getting in until I get through this season and completely think it through.'"
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