Politics is not a baseball game with winners or losers. What politics is about is whether we protect the needs of millions of people in this country who are hurting.
The light bulb going off in my head was a fear that in this pivotal moment in history, when America faces so many serious problems, when the middle class and working class of this country are being decimated, that there were not voices out there representing the tens of millions of people who needed a voice. And the idea of going through a campaign where there is not a serious discussion about the most important issues facing America, where there are not voices out there representing people who are hurting - that seemed to me unacceptable.
All I can say is if you check my record going back a long time, I have stood with those who are hurting. I have stood with those who have no money.
People are hurting and angry, and they want something to be able to stand up and fight for. That's what I believe the antidote is to Trumpism.
People are hungry, and they're hurting and they're very, very worried about their children. Will their kids ever pay off their student debt? Will their kids ever get a decent-paying job? I think Democrats have got to be running a grass-roots campaign - mobilizing people and being prepared to take on the 1 percent with an agenda that speaks to the needs of ordinary workers.
I think Donald Trump understood that there are many millions of people in America, the working middle class, who are really hurting. They are in pain.
I know that virtually every member of the Senate understands we just cannot turn our back on men and women who have put their lives on the line to defend us and who are hurting today.
