During an interview with CNN after Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate, 2020 presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) stated that “there are definitely moments where you listen to Joe Biden and you just wonder” and that he has “often felt like there were times that he is going on or meandering in his speech.”
Booker said, “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. And 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. I do think that tone and tenor is really important. And we can respect [Vice] President Biden and disagree with him. I tried to show that in the CNN debate, where he and I have strong disagreements. 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.”
He added, “At one point, he’s talking about people in communities like mine listening to record players. … But there are definitely moments where you listen to Joe Biden and you just wonder.”
Booker denied that he was stating that Biden is too old to be president, and stated, “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.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett