Friends -

I joined Twitter back in May 2010, and I’ve been a pretty active user ever since — 19,200 tweets and counting.

And yes, it’s really me “doing the tweets” as they say. Senator Schatz (my frequent Twitter collaborator) and I are working on getting a few more of our Senate colleagues to join in too.

For the most part, this engagement has been helpful and enjoyable. It’s a good way to keep a pulse on what’s happening and hear directly from folks who might not otherwise reach out to my office.

But if you had told me back in 2010 that one day I’d find my days regularly ruined because of an unending barrage of often demeaning, racist tweets from the President of the United States, I would not have believed you. It would be incomprehensible.

But last weekend, I reached my breaking point. Honestly, I still can’t believe I had to do this - I had to unfollow the Commander in Chief on Twitter.

But what is more upsetting is that it’s not just the tweets. It’s a guiding principle for how he wields power in the White House. For how he drives the news cycle and deflects from horrendous policy choices. And it is central to his re-election strategy.

We have a president who is banking on his ability to divide Americans up by the color of their skin as a means to earn four more years on the job.

My God.

And while I know there are some who tie themselves into knots trying to find any way to express these thoughts without calling him a racist directly – that has to stop. Honestly.

He is still in power. His administration is still separating families and putting children in cages. He continues to involve us in a war in Yemen that is the cause of the greatest humanitarian catastrophe on the face of the Earth. He is still trying to take health care away from tens of millions of Americans. He is still unwilling to pursue ANY common-sense measures to end the epidemic levels of gun violence in this country.

And if we want to end this nightmare, we have one option:

Win in November 2020.

I know you’re ready for that fight too.

So here’s the plan: Ignore the tweets. Because we need to get to work.

Knock doors, make calls, go to a local campaign headquarters and help in any way you can. Chip in to your favorite candidates.

If we give it everything we can, we are going to beat Trump in 2020, hold the House, and flip the Senate.

Let's go.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy