Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) told MS NOW’s “The Briefing” on Wednesday that President Donald Trump “is now a defanged old lion who’s wounded,” tying the remark to a recent Supreme Court ruling he says fueled partisan gerrymandering across the South.
“What I’ve been saying is that evil always goes too far, and therefore it contains within itself the seed of its own destruction,” Warnock said. “I think that those who are used to playing with power got to be a little bit too impressed with themselves.”
Warnock pointed to the Supreme Court’s Callais decision, calling it “one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in my lifetime.” He argued the ruling “opened the door, poured fuel on the fire of partisan gerrymandering, which has a huge racial subtext, whether people want to admit it or not, particularly when you’re talking about the South.”
He cited Louisiana specifically, saying states redrew district lines mid-election. “We saw states like Louisiana and others begin to gerrymander lines in the middle of an election, in some cases, while people were voting, they were arguing about the lines,” Warnock said. “The people all across the South who know this awful history said that you will not diminish us.”
“Donald Trump is now a defanged old lion who’s wounded, knows he’s on his way out. He’s a lame duck president. That’s a dangerous situation.”
Warnock said the fight is far from over. “The next two years are going to be tough,” he said, before pivoting to what he called a bright spot: Scott Colom’s election. “Tonight, Scott Colom made history,” Warnock said. “I know what that feels like. But you know what’s even sweeter is when you get to make a difference tomorrow. He’ll make a difference in the United States Senate.”
