In a new written statement provided to APR, Republican gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, defended his recent comments deriding Social Security as a “scam” and fired back at criticism from his Democratic opponent in the Alabama governor’s race, former U.S. Senator Doug Jones.

Tuberville began his statement by responding to critics who highlighted that the senator himself has received $93,000 in Social Security benefits over the past three years.

“The people receiving Social Security aren’t the problem,” Tuberville told APR. “I paid into Social Security for decades, just like millions of working Americans. I earned those benefits, and if you paid in, you ought to get every dime you’re promised too.”

“The scam is Washington—decades of taking your money, spending it, making promises they know they can’t keep, and refusing to fix the problem before our kids and grandkids ultimately get stuck with the bill,” Tuberville continued.

Tuberville’s comments align with his recent speech on the Senate floor, where he argued that the Social Security Trust Fund will become insolvent in five years and that U.S. adults would be better off investing their retirement savings in the stock market.

“Just look at the projections from SSA. Social Security’s own trustees say the retirement trust fund is headed toward depletion in 2032,” Tuberville said. “After that, incoming revenue would cover only about 78 cents of every dollar in scheduled benefits. My opponent wants to attack me for telling people there’s a problem. Well, I’d rather tell the truth and fix it before the next generation gets the bill.”

Tuberville also responded to recent comments from Jones in which the Democrat claimed Tuberville would look to privatize the Retirement Systems of Alabama if elected the state’s next governor.

“And if anyone wants to know what I think about RSA; no, I wouldn’t privatize RSA—I’d hold it up as an example of what the federal government ought to do,” Tuberville told APR. “Alabama has a retirement system built around contributions, investments, accountability, and a requirement that government funds what it promises its workers. That’s what working people ought to be able to count on, and Alabama is fortunate that our leaders demanded that kind of accountability.”

“Alabama faces the numbers. Washington kicks the can down the road,” he added. “If it’s wrong, I’ll call it wrong. If it’s working, I’ll say it’s working. RSA works. Social Security is headed for trouble. Doug Jones can play politics with that. I’d rather fix it.”

Despite now claiming a desire to “fix” the program, Tuberville previously said Americans’ “taxes would skyrocket” if the federal government tried to address the issues facing Social Security, instead advocating for abandoning the “outdated” program altogether. Tuberville also referred to Social Security as “highway robbery” and a “big, gigantic, blown-up Ponzi scheme,” and inaccurately claimed that undocumented immigrants were receiving benefits.

Jones responded to Tuberville’s latest comments on Social Security in a video posted to his official Instagram account Tuesday, saying he does not trust Tuberville’s promise to protect RSA—namely because of the Republican senator’s failure to honor past campaign promises.

“So, I must have set Tommy Tuberville’s hair on fire when I told him—when I said [to] watch out for him [and] if he calls Social Security a scam, he is going to take Retirement Systems of Alabama and privatize it,” Jones said in the video. “I read in that bastion of fair journalism, Yellow Hammer News, that [Tuberville] promised, just promised, to protect the Retirement Systems of Alabama—that that’s not what he was talking about with Social Security being a ‘scam,’ and so he’s not going to privatize RSA.”

“Baloney,” Jones continued. “I’m going to tell you something folks: if you believe that, believe that about as much as the veteran should have believed that [Tuberville] was going to donate his salary to them once he got in Washington, D.C. He said he would donate every dime of his salary. Well, he hasn’t donated a penny. He will say whatever it takes to try to win an election.”

Jones went on to reiterate his faith in Social Security’s future and said he believes Tuberville wants to see the program privatized only as a means of enriching himself and those close to him.

“Social Security has been the thing that has been stable. They’ve never missed a payment. It is what so many people depend on, and the Retirement Systems of Alabama is exactly what all our state employees, teachers, rely on for their retirement,” Jones said. “So here’s the thing: [Tuberville] always wants to privatize anything involving money with the government. He wants Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, you name it. He wants to privatize that so all his rich buddies can make money. So don’t believe it. He will absolutely try to figure out a way to get that in private hands, so you will not have the RSA pension benefits. You will not have an RSA, you will have a bunch of rich folks making a lot of money and putting things in stock markets that you cannot depend on.”

“So that’s the deal,” he added. “and if [Tuberville] tries to tell you otherwise, well, just talk to the veterans who got so much money from his salary over the last six years. Alabama deserves better. Alabama state employees, teachers, retirees deserve better. Don’t believe the B.S.”

While not yet a particularly prominent issue nationally, the future of Social Security appears to have become a contentious flashpoint in the 2026 Alabama governor’s race as Jones and Tuberville prepare to face off in the November general election.