“Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that we can help bring democracy to every corner of the world.”

It’s good I was born in Brooklyn. You learn how to take care of yourself.

I think Democrats are right. We fight for the American dream, for the environment, for privacy rights, a woman’s right to choose, a good public education system.

The job is never done and every generation has to fight again.

When you have a president-elect who calls the press every name in the book, I think it’s a warning shot across the bow, and you go back to what you learn when you were a child.

With so many of our fundamental rights hanging in the balance, it is not good enough to simply roll the dice, hoping a nominee has changed his past views. It’s not good enough to think, ‘This is the best we can expect from this president’.

I would not run for president. I really like what I’m doing now. People say I’m giving them energy and hope.

There are many faces to war. There is the face of courage, of bravery, of fellowship.There is the face of fear. Above all, there is love of country.

To win the cause we all believe in, the spread of true democracy all over the world, we need to win by example, not just with speeches but by example; not just with military might but by gaining the respect of the world.

Could you say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I’d appreciate it

I think we have to stop using the expression “alt-right.” It’s ridiculous. It’s racist, fascist, nationalist.

If we turn our back on the people of this country who need to work for a living, we shouldn’t be here, to be honest, because that has to be an essential part of what we do to protect the country, from the standpoint of defense, protect workers and make sure they have jobs.

My understanding of the Electoral College is that they have the right to vote for who they want. So they should vote their conscience, and if their conscience leads them that way, they should follow their conscience.

Each issue has to be looked at as to whether or not it threatens a woman’s health or her life, and if it does, you can’t support it. And if she just wants to have her legal right to an abortion, she should be able to do it.

Every citizen of this country should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth, their vote has a much weight as that of any CEO, any member of Congress, or any President.

The day you realize you’re a grownup is the day you realize that you have to do something. When we’re kids, we don’t have to do anything. Then all of a sudden you realize, if I want this to be better, I’ve got to do something.

I would love to see a march on Washington that says ‘Save our Social Security’

It is my fondest wish that in the fullness of time, the American people will look back on the Franken presidency as something of a mixed bag and not as a complete disaster.

I’m a freak in the fondest way possible.