Full Transcript for INTERVIEW: Senator Raphael Warnock Talks Democratic & Presidential Leadership, Keisha Lance Bottoms +More

where Trump is concerned, you're witnessing a president who's literally, his family is $ 2 billion richer than they were two years ago. 00:05:37 Speaker 1: You have these tariffs, which are crushing people, right? 00:05:40 Speaker 4: And every now and then, Trump shakes down a foreign government for his own interests. So the corruption and the costs... are connected. And Trump is a particular vile expression of that. But, you know, if I could quickly kind of walk you through an example. 00:05:56 Speaker 3: You don't even got to do it quickly. 00:05:57 Speaker 4: You know, I'm proud of the fact that when I went to the Senate, one of the things we did was we passed a bill that finally gave Medicare the ability to negotiate with Big Pharma the price of prescription drugs. So think about that first of all. We had to pass a law Just so Medicare could negotiate. That tells you the influence of corporate interests in our politics. In what capitalistic world does the seller get to tell you the price and you don't even get to push back? So they had to pass a law. I'm proud that we did it. It is literally saving lives right now. But guess what? It was only on 10 drugs. And then the law didn't become law until four years after we passed it. So I'm saying to you that too often we have the best politicians, best politics, that money can buy, which is why one of the things we've got to do is deal with dark money in our politics, partisan gerrymandering. We've got to get the people their voice back in their own democracy so we can deliver the things that they require. 00:07:02 Speaker 2: What you're speaking to is why there's so many people calling for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries to step aside. 00:07:07 Speaker 3: Or to fundamentally change how they lead. 00:07:10 Speaker 2: Do you believe Democratic leadership understands what voters were demanding in this election? 00:07:16 Speaker 4: I spent a lot of time on the ground listening. I campaigned in about 10 states trying to help us with the Senate majority. I've been in the majority and in the minority. The majority is a lot better. And people are deeply frustrated. And I think they're hungry. I think also I saw hope. 00:07:33 Speaker 2: But does Democratic leadership understand that? Do Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries truly understand that? 00:07:38 Speaker 4: Well, I think that's a conversation we need to have and we will continue to have inside the caucus. And in terms of leadership, you know, I'm open to hearing whoever in the caucus thinks that they should lead in this moment. I want to hear that vision. But it's got to center the concerns of ordinary people. It can't be about Beltway politics. It's about how we actually deliver to the people. 00:08:00 Speaker 2: So does the party need new leadership or does it need a new agenda under the same leaders? 00:08:05 Speaker 1: I think the whole country needs a new agenda. 00:08:08 Speaker 4: I mean, I think we've got to take account and take stock of how we ended up here in the first place. 00:08:16 Speaker 1: Like, Trump is a problem. He's the most. 00:08:19 Speaker 4: Corrupt president we've had in American history. 00:08:23 Speaker 1: He's a vile human being with no moral compass, right? 00:08:27 Speaker 4: But he's also symptomatic of a deep spiritual sickness in our country. I would contend that no nation That is healthy. Could have elected Donald Trump twice. The Trump era is indicative of the brokenness and the deep pain that people are feeling in our country. And I think we need leaders who are going to take on the corruption, who are very practical with addressing issues around cost and health care. But we also need leaders who will remind us who we are when we stand together. The nation needs to be healed. 00:09:04 Speaker 2: What do you say when you see what happened Tuesday? Because that's what gave me the case for optimism, right? I'm like, when I see Texas go blue and Georgia go blue and South Carolina, where I'm from, go blue, I'm like, maybe people aren't as spiritually sick as I thought they were. 00:09:19 Speaker 1: I think they had enough. 00:09:20 Speaker 3: I think they had enough. 00:09:21 Speaker 1: What I'm saying, I think they went on the Trump ride. 00:09:23 Speaker 4: I mean, there's a big dose, right, of racism and xenophobia and all kinds of stuff in that awful story, right? 00:09:29 Speaker 1: But what I'm saying is. 00:09:32 Speaker 4: When year after year, decade after decade, government doesn't deliver to people what they need, it opens the door to demagogues who stand up and say everything is messed up. 00:09:45 Speaker 1: And I'm the only one. Remember that? I'm the only one who can fix it. 00:09:49 Speaker 4: So I'm saying the brokenness, the wealth inequality, people not being able to send their kids to decent schools, to know that they can see a doctor when they're sick. There's a kind of cynicism that sets in like gangrene in the body politic. And for me, that's not just a political problem. I'm a pastor. I see it as a spiritual problem. And I see the work that I get to do delivering things. 00:10:17 Speaker 1: That my constituents need. I see that as spiritual work. 00:10:21 Speaker 4: I'm proud of the fact that so far in my tenure as a senator, I've delivered some $ 17 billion to historically black colleges and universities because I know firsthand that those schools have been punching way above their weight. They've been delivering so much to so many for so long. People expect them to just make a way out of nowhere. I'm proud of the fact that in our bipartisan housing bill that we got through, I saw the show where you guys were talking about it. It was my provision that dealt with private equity and saying that they can't swoop into our communities and just buy huge swaths of housing, driving up the price for ordinary people. 00:11:01 Speaker 1: So I think people need need us to deliver. 00:11:06 Speaker 5: When you talk about like people delivering

right and all the hope and all the. optimism that people feel right now, are we doing ourself a disservice by only focusing on the hope and the optimism and not walking, not walking and chewing gum at the same time and being like, but something else could be true at the same time where these people, once they're okay, we won't be okay anymore. Like the people who really need the help. Once it doesn't trickle down, what will happen? 00:11:27 Speaker 1: No, I'm very clear eyed. 00:11:28 Speaker 4: I mean, I think you rightly point out that, you know, when people get frustrated, they become open to all kinds of, of options. Um, here's what I think we have to do. We've got to stop this endless war of choice that is driving up the price of diesel, driving up the price of everything that moves on a truck, and that's everything. 00:11:54 Speaker 2: Can you do that when you know how much influence Israel has over people like Chuck. 00:11:58 Speaker 3: Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries? 00:11:59 Speaker 4: I think the Congress is the purse string and the declaration of war is in the purview of Congress. And we, the Democrats have already on a number of occasions passed, uh, war powers resolutions. If our, if our Republican, if our Republican colleagues had voted with us, we, we would have, we would have been able to put a stop to this. So, so now that the people have stood up last Tuesday, let's see where we land. But I think we ought to put a war powers resolution back on, on the table and push our, our Republican colleagues and others, whoever, to hear what the American people are saying. 00:12:40 Speaker 2: Do you believe Chuck Schumer is the right person to lead this new Democratic Senate majority? 00:12:45 Speaker 3: Because you said you're open to hearing about new leadership. So does that mean that you. 00:12:51 Speaker 4: I think we need fresh vision, fresh ideas, and I'm open to hearing whoever thinks they have that. Do you think he is— The process for choosing the leader will come up soon enough, and I'll be engaged with that. But right now, I'm focused on delivering, and I will not tolerate any leader that's not going to take on this corruption in government. And I'm not just talking about with the president, whether it's a cabinet member, members of Congress. We need to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. 00:13:26 Speaker 3: I agree. 00:13:26 Speaker 4: That's something I impose on myself. even though legally I don't have to because I think everyday people shouldn't be wondering if we're making decisions based on their self-interest or our own. So I won't tolerate a leader that won't take on this corruption, who will not take on the war, and who will not have an honest conversation about this growing wealth inequality and the fact that people can't pay for health care. I think they're worried about my voice. Somebody brought me some water. 00:13:56 Speaker 3: You keep clearing it, that's why. They know you're a pastor. 00:13:58 Speaker 1: Listen, man. 00:13:59 Speaker 2: The only pastor I see can talk for a long time and not take a sip of water. 00:14:03 Speaker 3: Or wipe his head. 00:14:06 Speaker 1: I didn't take note of that. 00:14:08 Speaker 2: He'll be up there for a long time and won't take a sip of water. 00:14:14 Speaker 1: Well, I need a sip of water. 00:14:16 Speaker 2: Another, another criticism of democratic leadership is something you were speaking to earlier. They often say that the establishment sometimes seems more determined to like going after progressive challenges than challenging corporate power. 00:14:28 Speaker 3: Do you think there's truth to that criticism? 00:14:31 Speaker 4: I was on the ground, uh, trying to, to help, uh, brother Al Sayad, uh, get elected, uh, spend some time with, with Abdul. Um, I was on the ground with Dr. 00:14:45 Speaker 1: Annie Andrews. I was on the ground with Scott Cologne, who I think is going to win Mississippi. I hope so. They are all different. 00:14:57 Speaker 4: But what ties them all together is a sharp focus on affordability, which Donald Trump says is a hoax. Find another way to tell me that you don't understand the struggles of ordinary people. So I think we will and we ought to have a spirited debate. inside of the caucus about how we deliver for people. And I know that there's been much made of the ideological spectrum of that, but I think that's a good thing. I think we have a big tent and we have to have a real spirited debate about how we deliver healthcare. Like how is it that we're the wealthiest nation on the planet and people don't have access to healthcare? One of the things we, and starting with the 10 states, including Georgia, which is why I'm so excited about Keisha Lance Bottoms' election. We're one of 10 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid. So four of those states elected Democratic senators last Tuesday night. So I look forward to working with the senators from Texas, from North Carolina, from South Carolina, from Mississippi to talk about Medicaid expansion. We need to stop the bleeding from these cuts that they're putting in place that. 00:16:08 Speaker 1: Will land in January. 00:16:10 Speaker 4: But then we need to lay out a bold vision about how we provide health care for everybody. And the fact that everybody doesn't have health care in America, that's not because of a poverty of resources. 00:16:23 Speaker 1: It's a poverty of moral imagination, moral courage. 00:16:27 Speaker 3: Absolutely. 00:16:27 Speaker 2: But why do you think establishment Democrats like to go after progressives more so than they do like they like to challenge corporate power? 00:16:36 Speaker 3: It feels like they have more of a. 00:16:38 Speaker 2: Fight with the progressives than they do actually challenging the corporate power that you know that. 00:16:43 Speaker 3: We need to be taxing. 00:16:44 Speaker 4: Both parties are much too beholden to corporate interests. That's what I was explaining in that whole thing,

that example I gave you around Medicare being able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. I'm glad that Democrats got something done on it, but when you look at the incremental way in which we were able to do it compared to where you would like to land, it is clear... that whether you're talking about big pharma or some of the oil and gas or all these various, uh, corporate interests, they have an outsized voice in our politics. 00:17:15 Speaker 1: But what has made that worse is citizens United. 00:17:20 Speaker 4: And this, uh, extreme right wing Supreme court, uh, made that awful decision with citizens United. It's doing a lot of damage to our, to our democracy. And, um, which is why part of what we got to do is we got to pass some legislation that will undercut Citizens United. 00:17:40 Speaker 2: I've also seen you be outspoken about, you know, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 00:17:44 Speaker 3: You've said that there should be a ceasefire. 00:17:47 Speaker 2: Do you believe that Democratic leadership have been willing to challenge the Israeli government when its actions conflict with American values and international humanitarian? 00:17:57 Speaker 1: Well, I can tell you what I've done. 00:17:59 Speaker 4: You know, when I look at what's happened in Gaza— It is a humanitarian catastrophe. The moral atrocities there are undeniable. There's an acronym in Gaza, WCNSF, Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. I mean, I can't think of a worse way to start your life. Start life, Wounded Child. No surviving family. Netanyahu is a war criminal. And it's been, you know, frustrating watching what's unfolded there. The people of Israel, by the way, don't like him either. He's very unpopular, but he's still in power. And so I think what this moment requires is American leadership. And, you know, I have taken votes apart from my party. to limit weapons to Israel, to point out the fact that we've got to make sure that we center American values and that we are not aiding and abetting anything that runs contrary to that. That's part of the asset test for me. And so I've voted on these joint resolutions of disapproval, all of that. But what I've learned, Charlamagne, over the last few years watching this unfold, there's no replacement for presidential leadership. 00:19:32 Speaker 1: On this question. 00:19:34 Speaker 4: Because by the time the votes get to us, they're tied with a whole range of other priorities. We have not had real forward-looking presidential leadership that acts with courage and principle wherever that lands. There's just no replacement for that. 00:19:52 Speaker 1: You know, I'm from Georgia. 00:19:54 Speaker 4: I'm just old enough to remember when an American president took the leaders of Egypt and Israel down to Camp David and wouldn't let them leave until they figured it out. Like, we take for granted. that Egypt and Israel are not mortal adversaries. 00:20:13 Speaker 1: But Jimmy Carter. 00:20:13 Speaker 4: Took them down to Camp

David, and when all else failed, he showed them pictures, two old men, he showed each of them pictures of their grandchildren and asked them, what kind of world do you want your children, is this what you want your grandchildren to inherit? And he was able to get that agreement between the two. So I think I think sometimes you can be caught up in a spiral so long that people can't even imagine that you can get out outside of this, but we have to insist on peace. 00:20:43 Speaker 2: Well, when they, when they hear people like yourself say that, you know, you voted for American military assistance to Israel to come with some type of enforceable conditions to me, that builds public trust. 00:20:53 Speaker 1: Well, I think so for me. Yeah, I hope so. It's for me, it's a matter of principle. 00:20:57 Speaker 4: And, um, you know, um, uh, again, what I, I, I have, what I'm, come to the conclusion watching this and trying to do what I can as a member of Congress, you really got to have presidential leadership on this. 00:21:12 Speaker 2: I just think you have to be willing to challenge... even your allies when their actions conflict. 00:21:17 Speaker 4: I think part of what it means to be a friend, you're not a friend of mine. If I can't have an honest conversation, that's right. 00:21:23 Speaker 1: So people that I'm really close with, right. You, you know, your, your friends can tell you the truth. That's right. They can tell you, man, I wouldn't wear it. Right. They can tell you the truth. 00:21:31 Speaker 4: And so, so, so those are conversations I'm encouraging and participating in all the time. Uh, there's a long, um, uh, partnership obviously between the black community and the Jewish community with respect to the civil rights tradition. When Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched alongside Dr. King, he said he felt like his legs were praying. And so, you know, I'm, I'm having those conversations not only as a member of Congress, but as a pastor, uh, uh, in the, in the black church with rabbis about where we are and, and having honest conversations about our differences. Um, and also about the ways in which we have important and strategic alliances. 00:22:14 Speaker 3: That's right. 00:22:16 Speaker 5: You talk about presidential leadership and needing better presidential leadership there, and I know people are having this higher office conversation about you and with you. 00:22:24 Speaker 1: Oh, you heard about that? Oh, everywhere, everywhere. 00:22:28 Speaker 5: That quote, I think it was Politico you were talking to. 00:22:30 Speaker 4: So I'm up for re-election in 2028, and I was just having a little fun with Jake Tapper. I said, be assured that I'm running for high office. The Senate is high office. So we'll see where we land. 00:22:41 Speaker 5: How you doing that to us? 00:22:44 Speaker 3: Hey, it's some great candidates coming out of Georgia. 00:22:46 Speaker 2: I mean, that's the other thing that gives me such a case for optimism, Senator, because this is the first time in a long time that I can look and say, there's some really good, high-quality candidates on the Democratic side. I can count, like, I can say you, I can say John Ossoff, I can say, you know, Governor Shapiro, I can say Governor Wes Moore, you know, I can say. 00:23:09 Speaker 3: Even Dr. 00:23:10 Speaker 2: Abdul El-Sayed at some point, you know, there's a lot of people I can look to and just say, there's some really high, and not even just the president, just some great, high-quality. 00:23:18 Speaker 3: Candidates and leaders out there. 00:23:21 Speaker 4: Yeah, very proud of her, and known her for a long time. Look, this is an inflection moment for our country, not just the party. And I just think we ought to have the bold, honest conversations. And we can't give in to the politics of scarcity that tries to convince us that we can't think big about how to deliver health care for everyday people, about the fact that workers ought to have a livable wage. They ought to be able to retire with dignity, send their children to good schools, be able to see a doctor when they need to see a doctor. that we ought to be able to have access to universal pre-K in our country. You know, when you know that age between zero and three, the power of that, the science shows that literally the brain is growing and the parts that you don't engage atrophy. And so if we really wanted to change the world, we would invest a whole lot more in zero to three, zero to four. 00:24:18 Speaker 1: I'm a head start, baby. Me too. 00:24:20 Speaker 3: You are? 00:24:20 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:24:22 Speaker 4: So Head Start, I'm one of two members of the Senate. Of course, we've got some new ones coming now. 00:24:27 Speaker 1: I don't know. We'll see. Who's a Head Start baby. And then. 00:24:31 Speaker 4: Growing, you know, in high school, Upward Bound put me on a college campus. So a kid growing up in the housing projects could imagine that I belonged. 00:24:40 Speaker 1: In college because I was already on the campus hanging out. trying to talk to college girls. 00:24:47 Speaker 4: And then Pell Grants and low-interest student loans enabled me to get through Morehouse College and earn a PhD. Head Start, Pell Grants, low-interest student loans, Upward Bound, all good federal public policy that provided a path for a kid to go from the projects to Dr. King's church to the United States Senate. What keeps me up at night is the recognition that it would be harder now. If I were that 15-year-old kid now, it'd be harder for me to get from there to here. 00:25:22 Speaker 1: And we've got to fix it. I think people, we've been going backwards, and people feel it. 00:25:28 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's two things in this country I always say. If you can make people feel, you'll always have success. If you're a politician, if you can put more money in people's pocket, and if you can make them feel safe, you'll always have success. 00:25:41 Speaker 1: Yeah,

hope. 00:25:42 Speaker 2: Hope, when you hear Democrats talk about affordability, right, how much can you really accomplish without confronting corporate America? 00:25:50 Speaker 3: You've got to challenge the pharmaceutical companies. You've got to challenge the health insurance. You've got to challenge these monopolies. You have to. 00:25:55 Speaker 1: You do. 00:25:56 Speaker 4: And look, part of what I want to see is billionaires spending a whole lot less on our elections and much more in taxes. 00:26:07 Speaker 1: So we need to have that conversation. 00:26:09 Speaker 3: And I want the legislation that makes sure those tax dollars go to the right place. 00:26:12 Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely. 00:26:12 Speaker 2: Because taxing the billionaires, because this country makes trillions of dollars. 00:26:15 Speaker 1: Yeah, what are we going to spend? That's right. Sure, priorities always matter. That's right. 00:26:20 Speaker 5: Do y'all think, for both of y'all, do y'all think that some people confuse DEI and what it was set out to do with what you're talking about, Charlemagne, with really pushing back against those corporate arenas and where the money is spent? 00:26:33 Speaker 1: You asking me? 00:26:34 Speaker 5: Both of y'all. Either one of y'all. 00:26:35 Speaker 1: You the senator. I'm not sure I understand the question. 00:26:39 Speaker 5: I feel like for the everyday person or like people who are, who mostly are affected by these on the ground things like DEI and inclusion and all that, right? Do you think that those people confuse DEI with what it means to make your politician fight back against these big corporates and the billionaires and where the money is going and the tax dollars? 00:26:57 Speaker 4: Look, I'm not wed to anything, you know, what you call it, you know, And they have found a way to malign the whole idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which, you know, equity is in the Bible. 00:27:14 Speaker 1: You know, diversity is all of it. 00:27:18 Speaker 4: How do they manage to make diversity, equity, and inclusion cuss words? So I'm at a point where I don't care what you call it. I'm focused on results. I want to make sure every child has a chance. And what we've tried to do through these programs various programs is to force people to at least have to take a look at your resume, to think about where you, you know, and to have equity centered in the conversation. There may be some other tools, other ways of getting there, you know, that take into account race, but also just poverty, class, all of these things. I think the sooner we recognize that the country is strong because of its diversity and not in spite of it, then we're on the road to building the kind of country that's worthy of our children. 00:28:05 Speaker 2: This is why I want to see y'all vote to get rid of the Electoral College. Because Tuesday showed me what America really thinks of diversity. 00:28:12 Speaker 1: Yes, man! Yeah. You know? Yeah. 00:28:15 Speaker 4: I often think about what it's like to live in a state where you don't feel like your vote matters as much. 00:28:20 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. 00:28:22 Speaker 4: I think a serious reset and conversation about a whole range of things that expand the democracy. 00:28:30 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. 00:28:31 Speaker 4: Because we think that that has been an ongoing project, right? Over 250 years, you have these ideals, one person, one vote, the democracy. But it's an ongoing, continuing project. Senators used to be appointed by the state legislatures. You've got the electoral college. You've got one of the things that would be at the top of my list in terms of expanding the democracy, obviously dealing. 00:28:55 Speaker 1: I'd like to pass the. 00:28:57 Speaker 4: John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will deal with partisan gerrymandering. 00:29:02 Speaker 1: We'll restore Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. 00:29:06 Speaker 4: We'll ensure in Mississippi, for example, I think we're going to win Mississippi, but Mississippi is one of the hardest states to vote in. If they had robust early voting, weekend voting, I think they would have already. 00:29:18 Speaker 1: Called the race for Scott Collin by now. 00:29:21 Speaker 4: But all of these Democratic reforms that expand the democracy, including D.C. statehood, is what I'd be, you know, are among the things that I'd be fighting for. 00:29:32 Speaker 2: What would have happened if people like Scott, people like Angie Nixon would have gotten more support from the Democratic establishment? 00:29:40 Speaker 3: A lot sooner? 00:29:41 Speaker 1: Well, you may have heard that that is the exact case I've been making. 00:29:45 Speaker 4: Like I, over the last few weeks in particular, I was in the South and saying to Democrats that Democrats ignore or diminish the importance of the South at their own peril. As goes the South, so goes the nation. We've seen that time and time again in the history of this country. It is right now the fastest growing region in the nation. And it's growing in every, it's the only region that's growing in every population. 00:30:19 Speaker 1: Section. 00:30:20 Speaker 4: Every population is growing in the South. You've seen Black folk who migrated over seven decades to the North. 00:30:27 Speaker 1: A lot of folks have migrated back to the South. 00:30:31 Speaker 4: And then when you look at what the Supreme Court did with this awful Calais decision, which basically encourages partisan gerrymandering, I think part of what happened the other Tuesday night, what you saw in the South, was members of our multiracial coalition saying, you will not diminish our voices. I think Democrats need to continue to channel that righteous rage and fury in a state like Mississippi. which is, in my view, a blue state that just needs to be organized. A lot of black people there. Mississippi has a greater percentage of its voting population are. 00:31:11 Speaker 1: Black voters. 00:31:13 Speaker

4: They got more black eligible voters than any state in a nation, or greater percentage. 00:31:20 Speaker 1: It's 38% black. 00:31:22 Speaker 4: And so you have all you need to build a multiracial coalition that will not only deliver this Senate seat, but I think could deliver another one and even a governorship in a state like Mississippi. 00:31:35 Speaker 3: I want to ask you about accountability. 00:31:37 Speaker 2: What does accountability for alleged corruption in the Trump administration actually look like? Because, you know, Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats weren't focused on revenge, but we all know revenge and accountability aren't the same thing. 00:31:50 Speaker 3: So what does it look like? 00:31:51 Speaker 4: Well, look, when you, as I listen to voters, We've got to focus on people's costs. But as I pointed out, the cost and the corruption, they're part of the same coin. And it would be malpractice not to investigate what is clearly the most corrupt administration in the history. 00:32:15 Speaker 1: Of our country. So there are oversight committees. 00:32:18 Speaker 4: I think those investigations ought to begin in earnest so we can hold people accountable, so we can get to the bottom of the corruption. while at the same time we have to remain very, very focused on the ways in which these costs are literally suffocating people. Like they, you know, you can't afford gas to get to work. You can't afford groceries. When you can't afford groceries and your children are hungry, everything else is theoretical. 00:32:47 Speaker 1: That's right. 00:32:48 Speaker 2: What happened in Georgia that made Georgia elect a black woman, Keisha Lance Bottoms is the first governor, first black governor, John Ossoff, Jewish man, won re-election again. You're a black man, of course. What is happening in Georgia that's making all of this possible? 00:33:05 Speaker 4: We've been doing the work for more than a decade, and I think when it happened, it felt sudden. 00:33:11 Speaker 1: It wasn't sudden. 00:33:14 Speaker 4: We've been on the ground registering voters, the recognition that demographics are not destiny, and so Stacey Abrams was an important person in that work and leader. I think she saw it clearly more than a decade ago. I was there working alongside her registering voters. And then I decided in 2020 to give people something to vote for. So I ran for the United States Senate. But here's the lesson in this moment. We were telling folks that as you look at Georgia and what's happening, we were telling folks that we could flip those Senate seats that we could turn, we could flip the state. And every time we lost, there was the temptation to pull back. Remember in 2014, we had two famous Georgia names on the ticket, Carter and Nunn, children, grandchildren of legacy personalities in Georgia. That was a heartbreaking year. We lost in 2014. Uh, but each time we lost, the margins got smaller. John Ossoff lost his first race, but all of those things built us to where we finally got. And then in 2021, Ossoff and I flipped those two Senate seats. Who would have thought we would have flipped two Senate seats, uh, at the same time. So my message to, to my party is that, um, regardless of where we land with Mississippi, and I think we're going to get that one as well. 00:34:46 Speaker 1: We should be in Mississippi today. 00:34:49 Speaker 4: Uh, registering voters, mobilizing voters, educating voters, helping voters to. 00:34:55 Speaker 1: Know that their vote will be protected. 00:34:56 Speaker 3: I think South Carolina, too. 00:34:57 Speaker 1: South Carolina, absolutely. 00:34:59 Speaker 3: Florida. 00:35:00 Speaker 1: Florida. Texas. Texas. 00:35:02 Speaker 2: When you see Keisha Lance Bottoms defeat a billionaire, I think he spent $ 200 million or something like that. What does that tell you about the limits of money in politics? 00:35:10 Speaker 4: Well, that was the contest, right? And it was a thing that I was praying about. It was a classic contest. between message and mission on one hand and money on the other. And I'm glad that at least in this episode, this time, the message and the mission won. I think that the people of Georgia, after being made familiar with a billionaire president who promises that he can just deliver and you ought to trust that he knows what he's doing because he's a billionaire, I think people have already seen that movie. They're literally watching it play out in real time This man spent $ 200 million of his own money, a lot of which he made on Georgia taxpayers, profiting from hospitals closing. I think the question before Georgia voters where that race is concerned in part was, is Georgia for sale? And the people of Georgia stood up and said, absolutely not. Georgia's not for sale. 00:36:08 Speaker 3: I got one last question. 00:36:09 Speaker 2: Because I really think that we have to stress this over the next few months, right? 00:36:16 Speaker 3: What should a working class voter. 00:36:19 Speaker 2: who supported Democrats, expect to be different in their life a year from now? Because you still got a president in the White House who's got a lot of veto power. 00:36:29 Speaker 5: Oh, he posted the hat with the veto. 00:36:30 Speaker 3: That's what I'm saying. 00:36:32 Speaker 2: So I'm not talking about what they expect to be different in Washington. What should they expect to be different in their household? Because that's what they're going to be voting. 00:36:39 Speaker 1: On in 2028. 00:36:40 Speaker 4: Look, I'm on the Finance Committee, on the Trade Subcommittee, which deals with these tariffs. We've got to put a stop to these tariffs that if you ended the tariffs, that would bring people some economic relief that alone. And so I'm going to be pushing my Republican colleagues to vote with us on this issue. 00:37:01 Speaker 1: Hopefully they will. If they don't, we will remind the American people in 28 that they didn't. 00:37:07 Speaker 4: Stick with us. But we ought to try to we ought to make an earnest effort. To get rid of these tariffs and not, you know, we don't want to make it a political issue. I want to deliver relief. 00:37:16 Speaker 3: But it might end up being a political issue. 00:37:17 Speaker 1: But you ought to try to deliver relief. 00:37:20 Speaker 4: Yes. 00:37:20 Speaker 1: If you can. 00:37:21 Speaker 2: But you got to make a spectacle of these things. When you bring them to the floor and they bolt them down, you got to let everybody know, hey. 00:37:28 Speaker 1: So that's the beauty of Tuesday night, right? Because had it gone the other way, we couldn't put anything on the floor. That's right. That's right. 00:37:34 Speaker 4: It'd be harder. So we control the floor now. So we ought to put the tabs up. We ought to put the War Powers Resolution, which is also driving up people's costs and making us less safe. We ought to put that up. We ought to put up votes on these premium tax credits. Remember that we had an epic fight trying to get them to do it, and they decided not to. Maybe after getting shellacked like they did Tuesday night, we can have a different kind of conversation. 00:38:08 Speaker 1: At least I think that's what we ought to try to do. All right. 00:38:11 Speaker 2: Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, 2028 presidential. 00:38:15 Speaker 3: Headed for higher office. He said y'all are. 00:38:19 Speaker 5: A happy couple, you and Ossoff. 00:38:21 Speaker 1: Ossoff and I, yeah, we work closely together. 00:38:23 Speaker 4: Yeah. 00:38:23 Speaker 1: And that's been good for Georgia. And now we got a governor named Keisha. 00:38:27 Speaker 3: Hey, that could be a hell of a ticket in 2028, Ossoff, Warnock. That's what the people saying. 00:38:31 Speaker 1: That's what the people saying. 00:38:32 Speaker 3: No, for real, Warnock, Ossoff, however it goes, that could be a hell of a ticket in 2028. 00:38:35 Speaker 4: All right. 00:38:39 Speaker 1: From your mouth to God's ears. 00:38:40 Speaker 4: Okay. 00:38:41 Speaker 3: All right. 00:38:42 Speaker 5: That's what your mouth be saying to God, too? 00:38:46 Speaker 4: God and I have had a wonderful ongoing relationship since I was a child. And one of the things I certainly pray about a lot is discernment. And I just want to be able to use my gifts in the best way, particularly in a moment like this. 00:39:01 Speaker 1: All right. Honored to be here with you. 00:39:03 Speaker 2: Thank you for coming, man. And Senator Raphael Warnock is the Breakfast Club. 00:39:07 Speaker 1: Hold up. Every day I wake up. 00:39:09 Speaker 3: Wake your ass up. 00:39:10 Speaker 1: The Breakfast Club. 00:39:11 Speaker 3: You all finished or you all done?