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The Don Lemon Show

LEMON DROP | Donald Trump Is Desperate!

04 Feb 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What personal experiences shape Senator Warnock's perspective on freedom?

13.582 - 32.008 Don Lemon

So I was getting ready to tape with the Honorable Raphael Warnock, the senator from Georgia, and he caught me with my dog because, you know, Senator, I had not seen my dogs for a while because, you know, they tried to they tried to. Lock me up in many ways. You're a huge dog person too, right?

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32.229 - 54.992 Senator Raphael Warnock

I love dogs. I grew up with dogs. And I have to tell you, seeing you with yours warms my heart because I often say that I walked a beagle named Alvin into the United States Senate. It's one of my most popular ads during both of my elections. Every time they tried to turn me into something that I'm not. I just kept walking. I kept walking with Alvin and I walked him all the way into the U.S.

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55.012 - 55.553 Senator Raphael Warnock

Senate.

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55.533 - 82.35 Don Lemon

yeah well this is best friend it is i'm so glad i'm so glad that you're a dog person and um you know this is uh this is real life these are the things like when you know when someone tries to take your freedom you think about those things i was thinking about you know what i can't wait to get home home to play with my dogs and to love on them and now i'm here and that's exactly what i'm doing so thank you so much can we talk about that uh for a moment when you first heard about what happened what was your reaction sir

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83.697 - 88.925 Senator Raphael Warnock

Well, I was deeply concerned. And first of all, how are you doing? Because I was thinking about you.

Chapter 2: How does Senator Warnock view the current state of journalism?

88.965 - 96.636 Senator Raphael Warnock

You know, Don, before I got into this work, I was a pastor, and I still am. I still serve my church. How are you doing, if I might ask?

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96.656 - 111.038 Don Lemon

I'm doing okay. People have asked me about that, and I say, you know, I don't know. I don't know if it's adrenaline. You know, I tell people I'm a soldier because I came from a long line of, as James Baldwin said, a long line of pedigree.

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111.018 - 134.292 Don Lemon

of um um what's the thing so sorry i just lost my train of thought a peasant stock a long line of peasant stock who um dug dams and and built bridges and the teeth of the most terrifying odds to attain an unassailable dignity and so i come from enslaved people who have gone through a lot and a lot of the shoulders i stand on so i stand on that but this is still these are still serious

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134.272 - 154.542 Don Lemon

charges these are criminal charges as you know they're federal charges so um i i just worry about the people who are in charge who could be in charge of my freedom in the justice department and they are not good people they they're not uh constitution following people uh they're not law-abiding people in in my judgment and i don't believe they're god-fearing people so that's my concern right now

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156.226 - 174.168 Senator Raphael Warnock

Well, I pray for your continued strength and grace to you as you come to terms with all that has happened. But I'm praying even harder for our country. Journalism is the fourth estate. You know, we've got three co-equal branches of government.

175.03 - 189.76 Senator Raphael Warnock

And as someone who serves in public life, you know, journalists ask you questions and sometimes they can get a little under your skin, but that comes with the territory. And what we have seen from the Trump Vance regime

Chapter 3: What concerns does Senator Warnock raise about the integrity of elections?

190.077 - 201.791 Senator Raphael Warnock

consistently is an assault on journalists, who are the ones who are helping us to see what's happening, not only in Minneapolis, but all across the country. I think all Americans should be deeply concerned.

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201.811 - 213.825 Don Lemon

Yes. And look, I thank you for your support. Why do you think that is? Have they ever read the Bill of Rights? Why are they so concerned about someone, about journalists just documenting the truth?

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215.386 - 242.938 Senator Raphael Warnock

Well, you know, truth and light is an antiseptic. And what we're seeing in this moment is not only journalists, we're seeing ordinary citizens on the streets documenting what's happening. Think for a moment what would happen if we didn't have the video from what happened to Renee Good. the video of what happened to Alex Preddy.

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244.72 - 261.5 Senator Raphael Warnock

Because we heard the story, they immediately turned Alex Preddy into some kind of domestic terrorist. They said that he was brandishing a firearm. Well, he did have a firearm on him that he was licensed to carry. And we all saw the video.

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Chapter 4: How does Donald Trump’s behavior impact American democracy?

262.321 - 285.958 Senator Raphael Warnock

The only thing he brandished was a camera phone. And so clearly they feel much more threatened by the camera than they did about almost anything else. And so this is deeply concerning. But if we didn't have that video, they would be telling a very, very different story. and it would be hard to push back.

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286.599 - 296.481 Senator Raphael Warnock

And if they're telling us these kinds of lies, when we have the video showing something different, imagine the lies that they're telling us with respect to the things that we can't see.

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297.323 - 317.335 Don Lemon

You brought up that you are a pastor As well, and, you know, I think that folks are trying to balance on this at least that's what they're saying balance the right to freedom of speech and the right to worship, and you have a unique perspective on that and I think that's where you were going but I'm not sure if we, maybe we can follow up a little bit more about that.

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317.838 - 343.566 Senator Raphael Warnock

Yeah, well, look, I believe in the freedom of speech. I believe in the freedom to worship and the freedom to assemble. And not only do I have a perspective on this as a pastor, I can tell you that as the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. served, that's a church that has in its DNA freedom. protest and the power of citizens raising their voices.

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344.39 - 358.431 Senator Raphael Warnock

On the other hand, because it's such a high profile church, I can tell you that I personally know what it's like to have people come in the church or onto the grounds of the church and protest in some way.

Chapter 5: What role does video evidence play in modern journalism?

358.451 - 384.186 Senator Raphael Warnock

And I've had people do that on the left and on the right. As a pastor, it's not something you care to see on a Sunday morning. You're worshiping. You've got a sermon you're delivering. But I've never had any of the protesters arrested. I may have had them removed from the church so we can continue with our service and certainly have not and would not have journalists arrested.

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384.667 - 397.086 Senator Raphael Warnock

I'd be interested to hear from these pastors if they want to see a journalist arrested protecting in their name. That's not something I would want to see as a pastor.

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397.471 - 400.877 Don Lemon

Why wouldn't you want to have journalists or protesters arrested?

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401.097 - 423.327 Senator Raphael Warnock

Because here's what preachers and journalists have in common. Our work is to seek the truth and to speak the truth, which makes all of us better. And so the last thing I would want as a pastor is to have journalists arrested. arrested and to have the state to be able to claim that they're doing that for me. That's not a service to me.

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424.169 - 433.528 Senator Raphael Warnock

I want journalists to speak the truth and to chase after truth because as a pastor, as a preacher, I'm in the truth telling business.

Chapter 6: How does Senator Warnock reconcile freedom of speech with protests?

433.548 - 457.026 Senator Raphael Warnock

That's the work that I do every single day. day, every Sunday, I'm trying to speak truth, and often I'm trying to speak truth to power. And in this case, you have people in power who are trying to undermine the ability of us to see the truth, and I certainly wouldn't want that done in my church's name. That's a favor I don't need the government to do for me.

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457.597 - 476.874 Don Lemon

As this is all happening, during the same time, or at least close to the same time, you had federal agents raiding an election storage facility, correct me if I'm wrong, in Forsyth County, Georgia. You are the senator from Georgia.

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477.394 - 507.634 Senator Raphael Warnock

We had a federal raid by the FBI into Fulton County, Georgia, which is a bright blue district. They are demanding yet another look at ballots that have been counted time and time again. Like this is not a new issue. These ballots have been counted so many times that some of my friends jokingly say regarding that election in 2020 that they counted those ballots so many times

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507.614 - 536.432 Senator Raphael Warnock

uh that uh joe biden uh was the 46 47 and 48 president of the united states this has been tested in court and democrats and republicans alike know know that this is a settled issue But Donald Trump is using old debunked conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election as a pretext for undermining the midterms in 2026. That's what this is about.

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536.873 - 552.252 Senator Raphael Warnock

He raided, and it's right to say he raided, the Fulton County Board of Elections. And I say this because we now have reporting that while the raid was going on,

Chapter 7: What strategies does Senator Warnock suggest to combat voter suppression?

552.923 - 562.919 Senator Raphael Warnock

Kristi Noem, who's the director of national intelligence, why is she even there in the first place? She gets the president on the phone Tulsi Gabbard.

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563.079 - 564.04 Don Lemon

Tulsi Gabbard.

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564.06 - 590.389 Senator Raphael Warnock

Yeah, Tulsi Gabbard. I'm sorry. Tulsi Gabbard is on the ground. That's correct. Tulsi Gabbard is on the ground. She calls the president. He then talks to line agents who are on the ground, ordinary FBI agents, about this. So this is Donald Trump's raid on Fulton County, the same state that he called requesting 11,000 votes in 2020 in order to flip the election.

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590.504 - 611.667 Senator Raphael Warnock

And this is the same administration that's saying to the people of Minneapolis, if you want to end the occupation in Minneapolis, turn over your voter rolls. These are the maneuverings of an authoritarian. And in the name of who we say we are as the world's greatest democracy, all Americans have to reject this.

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Chapter 8: What is the future of fair elections in America according to Senator Warnock?

611.787 - 616.292 Senator Raphael Warnock

Democrats, Republicans, independents, all Americans have to say no to this.

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617.032 - 632.025 Don Lemon

You have seen the president saying that he wants to nationalize elections and he wants to have Republicans take over, I believe, the elections, either in several places in the country, if not nationally, and Minnesota as well.

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632.826 - 651.336 Don Lemon

I asked Nancy Pelosi this, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, when I saw her this past weekend, and she said she believes there's going to be an election in 2026, a fair one for the midterms. I'm not so sure about that. But given everything that we have just talked about, Where is this going, and will there be a free and fair election in 2026 and beyond?

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653.399 - 674.906 Senator Raphael Warnock

Listen, these are the maneuverings of a desperate man. Donald Trump knows that the American people are rejecting his policies. He's broken promises. We're seeing rank corruption. We're seeing violence against ordinary Americans on neighborhood streets. And the people can see this.

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675.827 - 703.678 Senator Raphael Warnock

There was reporting just this morning that we had some 200,000 Georgians drop out of the Affordable Care Act because of Republican policies that have made their health care unaffordable. And so he knows that people are going to hold him accountable come November. And he's trying to slant the playing field. It will not stand. what he is doing is extreme, but voter suppression is not new.

703.898 - 724.276 Senator Raphael Warnock

We have seen this before, and we've certainly seen it in the state of Georgia. I saw it in my own election, and our response to that was to continue to raise the issues, to mobilize voters, to educate voters, and ultimately it's the people who corrected this problem by turning out and showing up. And that's what's going to happen in November.

724.296 - 744.508 Senator Raphael Warnock

We're going to fire all of the people that are aiding and abetting this authoritarian march in our country. Who gets the House and the Senate? Oh, listen, I'm not going to turn into a pundit. I'm a preacher and a senator. That's enough jobs for me, Don Lemon. But we're going to hold them accountable in November. I promise you that.

744.843 - 752.831 Don Lemon

Thank you, Senator Warnock. Thank you for appearing on the program. We hope that you come back and thank you for your support. It really does mean everything. And thank you for being a dog lover.

753.812 - 756.775 Senator Raphael Warnock

Indeed. Strength and blessings to you and your family, brother.

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