Some wrote just to say thanks. From Arizona, from all over the country and from abroad. From all across the political map, too. Some wrote to say that they watched the speech with their children, or that they read it aloud to them. “I try to teach my kids to respect others,” wrote one man. “The current resident of the White House is not the example I want my kids to follow.”

“As a die-hard Democrat, I have to say that before Trump came into office, you were kinda low on my list of senators to admire,” one woman wrote. “But I have changed that stance.” Another man wrote, “I am a registered Republican, but I am ashamed of what my party has become.”

One woman from Phoenix said she didn’t like my politics but thanked me for the “small beacon of light” all the same. “Semper Fi,” wrote a Marine. One man sent a check for $20.20 and urged me to run for president. (Sir, I will not be cashing the check, but I do appreciate the gesture.)