Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said last week that former President Donald Trump did not love the United States. The comments came as Trump appeared to be consolidating support among the general public and making major gains in a number of recent polls.
Booker made the comments to former White House press secretary Jen Psaki this weekend. Psaki asked about Trump’s recent criticism of major cities, including that Chicago was “worse than Afghanistan.”
“This is the spirit of the man. This is a person who doesn’t love America. He demeans and degrades some of our most precious and beloved places,” said Booker.
“He demeans and degrades the people that live there, the people that dedicate themselves to teaching in our schools, firefighters, the police officers, the civic engineers,” he said.
“It is just disheartening to see one of our major political parties elevating someone who doesn’t celebrate America. The rhetoric of Ronald Reagan, of George Bush Senior. I mean, they were about celebrating this country, lifting this country up and seeing it for what it is,” he said.
The senator’s statements were very different from his words in 2016. Trump wrote on social media that if “Booker is the future of the Democratic Party, they have no future! I know more about Cory than he knows about himself.”
Booker responded differently, stating “I love you” to Trump.
Booker’s comments came as Trump gained both nationally and in the senator’s home state of New Jersey. Trump held a successful rally in New Jersey last month, with his campaign reporting up to 100,000 people in attendance.
President Trump just signed a supporters truck at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey.
He never stops being the people’s president!pic.twitter.com/1MnwRanBML
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 16, 2024
Furthermore, during the event, the former president said that he would win the Garden State, which no Republican has done in more than 30 years.
Trump is also making plans to contest other states that Republicans have not won in years. The former president also held another event in New York City, his former hometown. He was greeted by enthusiastic supporters during the rally.
The former president said during the event that he would make a major effort to win the Empire State.