Cory Booker Takes Aim: 'There Are Definitely Moments Where You Listen to Joe Biden and Just Wonder'
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey slammed former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday night after Biden mentioned record players during the Democratic presidential debate in Houston.
Biden was saying parents can do more to help children learn.
“Play the radio, make sure the television — excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, the phone, make sure that kids hear words, a kid coming from a very poor school, a very poor background will hear 4 million words fewer spoken by the time they get there,” he said.
Joe Biden on how American families should spend evenings:
“Play the radio, make sure the television — excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night.” pic.twitter.com/ghmbdSu5Am
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 13, 2019
Booker gave that comment a verbal eye-roll in a postdebate interview with CNN.
“I think there was a lot of moments where a number of us were looking at us on our stage when he tends to go on sometimes. At one point, he’s talking about people in communities like mine listening to record players. I don’t remember the last time I saw a record player in my community,” he said.
“The vinyl is hot right now. Maybe he’s cooler than I am. But there are definitely moments where you listen to Joe Biden, and you just wonder. I don’t know — look,” Booker said.
Although Booker denied claiming that Biden, 76, was too old to be the Democrats’ nominee, he did say that the former vice president might not be able to be the candidate who can win the grueling race to become president in 2020.
“I think that we are at a tough point right now, because there’s a lot of people who are concerned about Joe Biden’s ability to carry the ball all the way across the end line without fumbling,” he said.
Booker cited a comment from fellow candidate and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro that was taken as a jab about Biden’s memory.
“Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago?” Castro said during the debate in reference to a comment Biden made about Obamacare, according to CNN. On Friday, Castro denied the comment was a personal attack.
“I think that Castro has some really legitimate concerns about, can he be someone, in a long grueling campaign, that can get the ball over the line? And he has every right to call that out,” Booker said Thursday night.
However, Booker also said Democrats must avoid being disagreeable as they disagree.
“I do think that tone and tenor is really important. And we can respect [Vice] President Biden and disagree with him,” Booker said.
“I tried to show that in the CNN debate, where he and I have strong disagreements,” the senator said. “But we shouldn’t do things that, at the end of this — when you demonize somebody and create bad blood, it’s hard to unify afterwards.”
Booker said his concerns about Biden are nothing new.
“I have listened to Joe Biden over the years, and often felt like there were times that he is going on or meandering in his speech,” he said.
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