Cory Booker's message to the Democratic Party: Don't bend the knee to Trump
In a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Manu Raju, Booker argued that Democrats can gain credibility with voters by showing they're concerned about the American people rather than their party. The New Jersey senator also weighed in on whether his party should embrace its most progressive wing and urged his own state to consider redrawing House maps to fight back against a GOP-led redistricting effort in Texas.
As Democratic voters demand a more aggressive approach toward Trump from party leaders, Booker told CNN he's 'going to continue to do what leadership is' and reprehended institutions for what he viewed as caving to pressure from the president.
'What I want to see more people doing is not doing what some law firms have done, bend the knee to Donald Trump. Not doing what some universities have done, bend the knee to Donald Trump. You see major corporations who want some merger approval not standing up on principle but bending the knee to Donald Trump. That to me is outrageous,' Booker said.
'History is going to remember these people for their complicity in what is a guy that's going to severely try to undermine our government – who already incited a riot on our Capitol,' the Democrat said. 'This is a moment in history where people are going to ask, 'Where did you stand? Did you bow to an authoritarian leader or did you stand strong and fight?''
Booker clashed with Democrats this week as he sought to amend several bipartisan police benefits bills with language that would stop the Trump administration from withholding Department of Justice grants for political reasons – arguing it is already happening in New Jersey. In impassioned remarks, Booker said members of his party are complying with Trump as he 'violates the Constitution' and 'trashes our norms and traditions.'
'How far are we going to let (Trump) go until we draw a line and say, 'I don't care where it is, on the floor of the Senate, within our communities, we're going to stand and fight against this authoritarianism?'' Booker told CNN.
Booker said he wants Democrats to be aggressive when it comes to redistricting efforts, as Republican-led Texas is moving ahead with a Trump-backed strategy to redraw the state's congressional map to try and gain more House seats. The senator suggested Democrats should do the same in New Jersey despite the Democratic Party's past rhetoric about the importance of nonpartisan redistricting.
Democratic Senators Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Amy Klobuchar got into a heated debate on the Senate floor over law enforcement benefits legislation, as Booker alleged that jurisdictions in blue states will have trouble accessing the benefits due to their resistance to the Trump administration's immigration agenda, and railed on Democrats for folding rather than fighting back against the president. Trump 'thinks you should break the rules for Democrats to sit back and just say, 'OK, we're going to play by the queen's rules,'' Booker told CNN.
'No, I'm telling you right now we need to win in the midterm. We need to stop him from cheating, from lying, and from stealing the election. And if they're doing something to add their congressional seats, we need to look at our ways of doing that right now,' he said.
Booker's political call to arms comes as Democrats struggle with frustration with the party among their base, some of whom appear to be turning to more progressive leaders like the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayor's race, 33-year-old Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.
Like many Democrats, Booker declined to say whether he supports the Mamdani, who delivered a surprise primary victory in June.
'New York City, I love you. You're my neighbor. You're about 10 miles from where I live. You guys figure out your elections,' Booker said. 'I'm going to focus on mine.'
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