Figures hits back at Marques’ attacks at Trump rally: ‘Trump drunk’

PoliticsRep. Terri Sewell looks as Rep. Shomari Figures speaks to the crowd at Beulah Primitive Baptist Church in Hope Hull, Ala., Thursday, July 30, 2026. "Do you think Tommy Tuberville would be okay with a data center next to his house in Florida? ... Why should your data center or your home be treated any differently than they would treat their own?" Rep. Figures said. (Eric Kiekeben/AL.com)AL.comBy Ruth Serven Smith | rserven@al.comCliff McCollum | cmcollum@al.comU.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, the Democratic incumbent in a contested race in south Alabama, hit back against claims made about him and his party by President Donald Trump and Alabama Republicans at a rally Friday night.“We fully expected them to be up there in a sort of Trump drunk state of praise and worship of Donald Trump, which is exactly what happened,” Figures said at a gathering of the Alabama Democratic Conference Saturday morning in Mobile.In a separate statement, he said that state Rep. Rhett Marques, his opponent, misrepresented his record. And he continued to try to tie Marques to the impact of high gas prices and tariffs in Alabama.“Rhett Marques just showed everyone why he’s completely unqualified to represent us in Congress,” Figures said.What was said?Multiple speakers at Trump’s rally at the University of South Alabama referenced the race in District 2.“They know that a vote for Shomari Figures is a vote for the far-left wing of their party,” Marques said during his own speech, saying Figures represented “craziness over common sense.”Republican congressional nominee Rhett Marques speaks alongside President Donald Trump during rally at the Mitchell Center on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (Will McLelland/AL.com)Will McLelland“He’s against no tax on tips,” Marques said of Figures, referencing votes in Congress. “He voted against no tax on overtime pay. He voted to tax your Social Security. He supported your tax dollars to pay for sex change operations for children and medical benefits for illegal aliens.”Figures’ response“Rhett Marques just showed everyone why he’s completely unqualified to represent us in Congress,” Figures said in a statement to AL.com. “He took the stage and lied about me, offered no plan, and praised the man who’s responsible for all-time high fuel prices, the largest tax in American history - the Trump tariffs, and the worst environment for our farmers in decades.” “Rhett also missed the chance to explain to us why he raised the gas tax 67% in Alabama.”“It’s crystal clear that Rhett Marques would only do what Donald Trump says. He would represent the president; I will represent the people. And if Rhett truly believes he can back up all those lies about me, he should take the stage with me and debate.”Fact-checking recordsMarques, who currently represents Enterprise, served in the Alabama House in 2019 when lawmakers approved the Rebuild Alabama Act, which gradually increased the state’s fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon to fund road and bridge projects across Alabama.Marques did vote for the fuel tax -- but so did most of the Legislature. Figures did vote against Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed in 2025. So did every other Democrat in Congress.But the impact of the legislation -- and what Trump and Republicans say it does -- is mixed. Trump’s description of the law as providing “no tax” on tips, overtime and Social Security overstates what the legislation actually does, according to an AL.com fact check.Trump’s claim that the measure represented “record tax cuts” has also been challenged by independent fact-checkers.In terms of claims about tariffs, the impact of Trump’s international trade negotiations on the state seems mixed. Tariffs have cost the state an estimated $5.4 billion, according to an analysis by the National Taxpayers Union, with most of the pain falling on local manufacturers.Republicans have also criticized Figures’ record when he worked for the Department of Justice, then run by Merrick Garland under President Joe Biden.The DOJ sued Alabama, which had just passed a state law to ban sex change surgeries for children. Figures has said he was not involved in transgender issues when he was with the Justice Department.Ruth Serven Smith is a senior managing producer at AL.com who reports on politics, policy, elections and education issues. She founded The Alabama Education Lab team in 2021. She grew up in Oklahoma and most...