Senator Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., stated in a recent interview that the United States would have to be "spiritually sick" to elect former President Donald Trump for a second term. Warnock characterized Trump as a symptom of a deeper national ailment.
Responding to a question about whether America needed a "spiritual rebirth," Warnock told Politico's Jonathan Martin, "Absolutely." He described Trump as "a serious problem for our country" and "a danger," but emphasized that the former president is "symptomatic of a deeper problem."
"We — only a nation that is spiritually sick could elect Donald Trump twice. There is a brokenness," Warnock said. He added that those who believe the nation simply needs to return to normalcy after the current moment may have misunderstood the severity of the situation. "It's only because so many people were being left behind in the first place that somebody like Trump could even get a hand on them."
Warnock viewed the 2026 midterm elections as a critical "inflection point," warning that a failure for Democrats to achieve success in those races could render the 2028 presidential election "theoretical."
When asked about his own presidential ambitions, Warnock declined to comment but called for "a robust debate and a real primary in 2028."
In April, during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Warnock, who also serves as senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, addressed pastors who support Trump, suggesting he was divinely appointed. Warnock called the Trump administration "ungodly" and drew parallels between such leaders and historical Christians who used scripture to justify slavery.
"Yeah, they're wrong," he stated, noting that the Black Church arose to counter the "American heresy that somehow tried to reconcile the faith of Jesus to slavery."
The Republican National Committee (RNC) responded to Warnock's remarks, with spokeswoman Emma Hall calling him a "radical left-wing warrior" whose views are irrelevant. She asserted that Warnock advocates for abolishing prisons, police, and borders, and believes Republicans are like "dying snakes" that need to repent.