What they [Jim deMint and the oil lobby] do care about is the precedent. If they open up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), they'll think they can do anything to the environment - anything at all. Drilling in Yosemite? In the Grand Canyon? What's next?

You have to be an optimist to be in politics.

When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, 'Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?' They want that.

Unfortunately, Trump has showed hateful inclinations toward many, many groups. Many groups. The most obvious: undocumented immigrants and Muslims. His comments that I've seen that he's made about Jewish people, about black people - they're all very troubling to me - even though he sort of said, "Oh, I distance myself from hate and don't do any of this hating stuff."

I've always thought of myself as a catalyst. Look, it's not without its perils. Ann Coulter called me "learning disabled." The things people write about me.

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

I've faced the grief, I've faced the anger, and I'm ready to keep up the fight because America is worth fighting for.