Team,
You may have heard that earlier this week, Donald Trump once again invoked my name in comments about housing policy that were blatantly racist.
It’s no secret that this issue is deeply personal to me. My own parents were turned away from homes in the New Jersey suburbs back in the 60s because of the color of their skin. If it wasn’t for the help of activists and a white couple who posed as my parents, I never would’ve been able to move into the community in which I grew up.
The real estate agent for my childhood home turned my parents away, but when a white couple came along, they discovered it was still for sale. On the day of the closing, the white couple didn’t show up — but my father and a volunteer lawyer named Marty Friedman did.
It turned into an ugly scene. The real estate agent punched Marty in the face and even sicced a dog on my dad. But after all of this, my family was successful in purchasing the home of their dreams. We finally were able to move into a suburban community with excellent public schools.
18 years later, I was president of my class, an All-American football player, on the honor roll, and headed to Stanford. None of this would’ve been possible without the opportunities afforded to me because of where I grew up.
Back then, I never could’ve imagined that one day the President of the United States would make such hurtful and bigoted comments about me. But I also couldn’t have imagined what happened afterwards: the heartwarming display of support and encouragement that I received.
Our social media feeds are often filled with darkness and vitriol, but on Tuesday morning, I opened Twitter and just encountered so much light and so much love.
Take a look at this wonderful thread from Kevin Lowery, the photographer on my presidential campaign, sharing some of my favorite hugs.
I’m not going to "invade" any neighborhoods and I certainly won’t be abolishing any suburbs. But you better believe that I’m going to continue fighting as hard as I can every single day for you and our shared values in the Senate.
I’m only able to do it because of the members of this movement that power our re-election campaign. Just like all of these supportive tweets, every single dollar helps this cause. Please, promise me you’ll only donate today if you can.
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I try to say it often, but I can never say it enough: I love this team and I am so, so grateful to have you standing by my side.
— Cory
