‘This has got to be a moment in America,’ Cory Booker tells 1st town hall since record speech

By Mike Catalini Associated Press PARAMUS N J Democratic Sen Cory Booker took a version of his record-breaking Senate floor speech on the road Saturday to a town hall meeting in a New Jersey gymnasium calling on people to find out what they can do to push back on President Donald Trump s agenda Booker took questions at suburban New Jersey s Bergen Locality College the same day as more than Hands Off demonstrations were planned around the country The town hall event was punctuated both by celebratory shouts of Cory Cory as well as at least a half-dozen interruptions by protesters It was Booker s first in-person event in his home state since his speech this week where he held the Senate floor for hours and minutes in opposition to Trump s policies In doing so he broke the record for the longest floor speech which was set by segregationist Sen Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of Questioner after questioner petitioned what they could be doing to show their disagreement and worry over the president s policies Booker notified them it only takes a little bit more could they afford a trip to Washington to lobby against budget cuts One of the loudest moments of applause came after he addressed a woman who reported she worried about what anticipated Medicaid cuts could mean for her son with autism A gathering like this can t be the end of our activism Booker disclosed This has got to be a moment in America where all of us begin to say what more can I do The questions and Booker s response mirror what voters and other Democrats have been hearing during town halls He announced he didn t want to focus on the Democratic Party which has struggled to find a message since losing the referendum Instead he mentioned he would focus on the people of our country I think the Democratic Party lost a lot of elections because people didn t believe that they cared about them So let s stop worrying about the politics and get more focused on the people Booker stated After the event Booker commented he was reluctant to tell people the exact tactics to use citing civil rights activists like the late John Lewis He disclosed creativity has a role to play I know one thing it s not is sitting down and doing nothing and just watching on TV and getting stuck in a state of sedentary agitation he explained Everybody has to be taking measures to put the pressure on to change Booker who ran unsuccessfully for president in disclosed after the event that he was focused on running for reelection to the Senate in and that will take care of itself Booker is in his second full term in the Senate He chairs the Strategic Communications Committee his party s messaging arm His gang is focused on boosting Senate Democrats presence across social platforms through more frequent and casual content Booker himself has amassed one of the largest followings on social media platforms like Instagram TikTok and X where his commentary appears to connect with the party s base But staffers are now focused on how to transfer that success to Booker s fellow senators who are often less digitally fluent and face different political landscapes in their home states That has involved turning the communications committee into a nerve center for testing and coordinating the easiest-to-use formats for lawmakers looking to boost their digital brands Booker hopes to double the engagement senators receive with their content directly online and increase the caucus appearances with online digital media personalities Related Articles Letters Oakland voters must compare visions of Lee Taylor Letters For Oakland to break with past elect Loren Taylor mayor Stephens Chuck Schumer isn t Jewish like the Pope isn t Catholic Schumer to advance GOP funding bill unwilling to peril authorities shutdown as deadline nears Letters Oakland mayor is the wrong job for Barbara Lee The start of Saturday s event included six disruptions including by several people who decried the restoration of Palestinians Police in the gymnasium escorted them from the arena I hear you and I see you Booker declared Associated Press reporter Matt Brown in Washington contributed