Sen. Raphael Warnock

Well, you know, we shouldn't sugarcoat it.

This is a dark moment in our country.

It really is.

And we're fighting to hold on to the best in the American story, a story that I'm deeply committed to.

I love my country.

That's why I do this work.

But we've been at this a long time, and it's ironic that as we approach the 250th birthday of the American grand experiment in democracy, we're fighting just to hold on to that idea.

And we literally have an administration that is at war with diversity, which is at the core of the American experiment, e pluribus unum.

out of many one.

That's who we are.

We've had to fight to get there.

And I have to tell you, as I move around, every now and then I literally have people, some folks have pulled me out of a parade that I was walking in, and they're literally grabbing me by my lapel and saying, please save us.

Please save us.

And what I say to those citizens is, I'm going to do everything I can to fight for you.

Because, you know, I'm inspired by leaders, some of whom are still with us.

You know, I live in Atlanta, so I walk among the giants of the civil rights movement.

Andy Young is my friend and my mentor.

John Lewis was my parishioner.

I know that there are folks who came before us who didn't have any reason to believe that they could win.

And so what I say to those citizens who say to me, please save us, I'm gonna fight for you, but you don't get to outsource democracy.