I’m no longer surprised by anything our President does. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility. At this point, it’s all “normal” — which proves yet again that our “normal,” our status quo in Washington — is beyond broken.

In the past week alone, in three actions, Donald Trump undermined what our nation is supposed to stand for and put his lawlessness on full display. Even by the president’s standards, this is completely reprehensible.

First, his racist dog whistles became a bullhorn. The President and his team intentionally decided to hold his re-election kickoff on Juneteeth in the same city that the largest massacre of Black Americans took place. Not to mention, this defied his own public health officials’ warnings that mass gatherings directly contribute to spikes in deaths due to COVID-19 – putting thousands at risk.

Then, the president continued to stoke racial tensions, villainizing the pain and anger on full display in our streets. While sitting behind his keyboard, he defamed and disregarded the pain so many are feeling. Insinuating there was no difference between those standing up and fighting for racial justice through protests and those looting. The president’s continued disregard for the First Amendment and attempts to demonize anyone with a different point of view than him is the exact opposite of what this nation was founded upon. Dissent is patriotic. The suppression of voices is autocratic.

And finally, as he was distracting a nation with racist bullhorns and ignoring the pain our nation is feeling – on a Friday night, he chose to show his lawlessness in full display. Trump and Attorney General William Barr moved to fire US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan, who had been leading criminal investigations into the President, Rudy Giuliani, and his associates. This was not partisan as usual – in fact Berman was appointed by the President – this was done solely to prevent an investigation from continuing. Donald Trump continues to abuse the Justice Department as a political tool, and William Barr is complicit and enables his lawlessness.

These three events are only the tip of the iceberg. We cannot be distracted. And we need to do everything we can to defeat President Trump on November 3rd – then fix the damage done in his wake.

And that is yet another reason why I am running for Senate. The broken system that gave us Donald Trump was the result of 50 years of failed leadership. Once we defeat him in November, we are going to need to rebuild for the next 50 years. I am ready for that fight. I am ready to take on the failed structures that got us to this moment. I am ready to build the coalitions across this country to ensure we have good Democrats elected from statehouses to the Senate.

Will you join me in that fight? Will you pitch in to join and fuel this campaign so we can shift the direction this country is heading and break down the systems in place that have left too many people divided, disillusioned, oppressed, excluded, and afraid.

I’d be grateful If you were able to help our campaign as our final end-of-quarter deadline before the primary is rapidly approaching on June 30th.

Here’s the best link to make a contribution: https://secure.kennedyforma.com/DonateForChange

Thank you for your activism, support, and voice. Let’s keep fighting.

– Joe