Our country has faced national crises before, but never with such a dangerously unfit and polarizing leader — someone who hungers for the unchecked power of the autocrats he so admires. And Trump is fully enabled by the cowering obedience and complicity of Congressional Republicans who have made it crystal clear that they will not stand between Trump and his assault on our Constitution.

The murder of George Floyd prompted the moment we are in, but a clear line runs from slavery to Jim Crow to segregation to institutional racism and the absence of police accountability in our society. While we have made progress on civil rights over the years, anyone with ears to hear “I can’t breathe” knows we have a long journey still ahead. We must take urgent and deliberate action to root out systemic racism in all its forms. But Trump will never acknowledge that because, from the start, his candidacy was based on sowing hate and division in America. 

As people across the nation protest to express their pain and demand change, Trump has threatened to unleash his “vicious dogs” and called for police “domination.” The use of tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters outside the White House this week to enable a Trump political stunt was a new low for our country. Never in my worst nightmares did I ever imagine a scene like that in the United States — an American president calling out the military, not to defend us from foreign enemies, but to violate our citizens’ First Amendment rights.

These are dark days. Yesterday, I spoke in the Senate Chamber and called upon Senate Republicans to finally stand up against this unstable and very dangerous president. But they remain submissive in their silence. Their refusal to defend their oath and the Constitution during this unprecedented time also represents a threat to our democracy.

Our only recourse is at the BALLOT BOX this November. Trump knows that and he is determined to try to suppress the vote. We cannot let him succeed. Grassroots organizing under these circumstances isn’t easy, but we must stay focused on the task at hand — taking back the White House and the Senate to save our democracy and build a more inclusive America that truly meets the promise of liberty and justice for all.

We must work 24/7 to Ditch Mitch and Dump Trump.

Don’t agonize, organize!

We are all in this together,

Chris