After President Donald Trump put a spotlight last week on the slaughter of Christians in the African country of Nigeria, the issue is getting new attention in the United States media — and in the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, the football-coach-turned-Republican-lawmaker, told Fox News on Wednesday he is fully behind the use of U.S. military force to end the persecution at the hands of Islamist terrorists.
And he made no bones about it.
Fox News: Would you support U.S. Troops going into Nigeria?
Tommy Tuberville: You bet I would.
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) November 5, 2025
Asked by “America Reports” anchor John Roberts whether he would support military action, Tuberville responded: “You bet I would.”
Tuberville is no stranger to the issue of Islamist extremism or its impact on Nigerian Christians. In an early October speech on the Senate floor, he said there had been 62,000 Christians killed in Nigeria since 2000.
He repeated that number in the Roberts interview: “62,000 Christians” have been killed in Nigeria alone, he said; “100,000 killed” on the African continent; and “18,000 churches burned.”
If the slaughter of Christians doesn’t end, should Trump use U.S. air power to hit Islamist forces in Nigeria?
“And that’s probably an underestimate, John. But we cannot allow this to happen to people that can’t defend themselves.”
The issue rose to the public forefront after Trump was asked about it by a reporter aboard Air Force One on Sunday. A day later, Trump published a post on the Truth Social social media platform threatening to send U.S. forces to Nigeria with “guns-a-blazing” to protect Christians.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action,” Trump wrote. “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Tuberville isn’t the only senator taking up the cause.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has formally introduced a bill to put sanctions on officials of the Nigerian government if it doesn’t take action to protect Christians from Islamist terrorists.
Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.
It’s time to hold those responsible accountable. My Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.…
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 3, 2025
In the House, West Virginia Republican Rep. Riley Moore is leading the charge to protect Nigerian Christians.
But sanctions and international pressure from the administration are one thing. The use of military force is another.
In his interview with Roberts on Wednesday, Tuberville didn’t shy away from the prospect.
He also expressed no doubt of its success.
“If we need to get involved in something like this, President Trump could end that in a heartbeat,” he said.
“This wouldn’t be like going into Russia or China or North Korea or Iran. This would be going and helping innocent people that would be able to take back over their country.
“It’s a shame something like this happens, but we can’t overlook it. We can’t underestimate it.”
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