Audio: Sen. Warner Says He “hasn’t “talked to a single Republican Senator that doesn’t acknowledge that Joe Biden is going to be president.”

Earlier today, on WAMU’s Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood, Sen. Mark Warner had some interesting comments. See below for three short clips:

• On Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s comments about messaging like “socialism” and “defund police” hurting Democrats, Sen. Warner emphasized that he doesn’t support “defunding the police” but does support REFORMING the police. Sen. Warner also said he doesn’t think socialism is the answer, but does support reforming “modern American capitalism.” Sen. Warner added that he agreed with Rep. Spanberger that “using terms like ‘defund the police’ has led to Democratic losses.” Sen. Warner noted that Rep. Spanberger comes from a district that has very progressive parts, but also “wide swaths” that are “still pretty conservative,” and she has to run and win in both.

• Sen. Warner said he hasn’t “talked to a single Republican Senator that doesn’t acknowledge that Joe Biden is going to be president.” Sen. Warner added that these Republican Senators have argued – “wrongly” in Sen. Warner’s view – that they wanted to “[let] Trump’s tantrums play out for a few days, but they all said ‘give it until the end of the week’.” Sen. Warner emphasized that Republicans “DO need to step up…this is more than about Trump’s personal feelings, this is about the national security of the country…My patience with my Republican colleagues is wearing thin...My Republican colleagues…need to be more public in telling Trump the time for his tantrums is over and we need to move on.”

• Sen. Warner said he understands why many Democrats want him to “go to war” with Mitch McConnell at this point. But, Sen. Warner added, we are still better off if Democrats and Republicans can find ways to work together, “we can produce products that actually help American democracy.”