CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Interview
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ACOSTA: And we are tracking breaking stories tonight -- multiple breaking stories, including a terror attack in London that left two people dead. And joining us now is the Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Cory Booker.
Senator Booker, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Let's get right to the top story tonight, and that is the stabbing attack in London. How high is the risk here in the U.S. and should Americans be concerned about this heading into the holiday season?
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, my prayers are with those who lost lives on that bridge. And the heroism of bystanders and the heroism of the first responders was evident, and we've seen that here in America as well.
Look, we always have to be on guard. We know the new era that we're living in. But I have a lot of confidence in our counter-terrorism forces here in the United States as well as the vigilance of people who see things and say things that's helped stop attacks in our country.
We should enjoy our holidays and not let the terrorists win who want to inject our culture with fear. We will not, at all, yield to that in this country. We must respond with strength and confidence that we could beat back the terrorists and make sure we secure our country.
ACOSTA: And, Senator, let's talk about this impeachment inquiry. It looks like a Senate impeachment trial could unfold in the middle of the Democratic primaries. With so many senators in the 2020 field such as yourself and the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell setting the rules for a Senate trial, are you worried that this process could damage chances for the Democratic senators who are in this race like yourself?
BOOKER: You know what, there are six of us, and we are all prepared to do our duty. We swore an oath. This is an unprecedented or at least seen only in a few times in our history where we will have a trial. And so, look, I take this -- it is a moment of patriotism, not politics, and I think that all of us are going to be in our seats doing our job.
Now, what effect that will have on the campaign, I don't know. There is no script for this, but I know with the kind of effort that we're making on the ground in places like Iowa, not only --
ACOSTA: Yes, how do you run for the Iowa caucus, Senator, if you're conducting a trial in the Senate?
BOOKER: Well, this is where I'm grateful that my campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire have more endorsements from local leaders than any other campaign. So we've got local mayors and others to serve as surrogates. We're trying to do our best right now to raise money, not only to make the next debate stage but also hoping people go to corybooker.com to give us the resources to get up with ads on T.V. and -- and more.
We're going to make this work, but we're talking about removing a sitting president from office. This needs to be dealt with with a sobered commitment to do our duty. Donald Trump, I think, has betrayed his duty, but I know the senators that are running for president right now will do ours.
[17:45:14]
ACOSTA: And a super PAC supporting you, Senator, has just put out its first ad in Iowa targeting Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Let's watch a portion of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a Rhodes scholar, a successful mayor, and a uniter. No, not that guy. It's Cory Booker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Are you running against that guy, Senator?
BOOKER: God, you know, what's so funny is I didn't even know that was out. And this is the first time I'm seeing it, so you caught me a little off guard.
ACOSTA: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
BOOKER: Look, at the end of the day, I'm running for the -- for the soul of our country. I'm running because I believe that this nation should not be attacking each other. We're not tearing each other down. This is a time we should be building each other up.
And if anybody has followed my campaign, we've been the one that has, from the very start, trying to say to folks that we need to be a Democratic Party that can unify and come together.
ACOSTA: Yes.
BOOKER: So I celebrate the people that are in the race, and my campaign is not about tearing anybody down.
ACOSTA: But, Senator, doesn't that --
BOOKER: We need to build folks up.
ACOSTA: But doesn't that ad get to a point, and that is -- a lot of Democrats are saying this -- why is that Pete Buttigieg is resonating and people like Cory Booker, who is a known quantity, nationally, internationally, why is he not? Why are you back in the pack, and he is at the head of the pack? Is it because he's a fresh face and you're not? Why is that?
BOOKER: Look, I'll leave that to the pundits, but we know this. The way people are measuring back of the pack, front of the pack is with polling. And never -- in your lifetime or mine, never -- has there ever been someone that's gone at this point in November from leading in the polls to the White House from the Democratic Party.
So my campaign looks a lot more like Bill Clinton's did, Jimmy Carter's did, and even Barack Obama. The first two were polling at single digits at this point. Barack Obama, at this point, 21 points behind Hillary Clinton. What is making a difference for us, where we're seeing this post-debate surge is in fundraising, in endorsements in Iowa, raising in -- in fact, right now, we're number three in that favorability.
ACOSTA: Did that attack ad make you uncomfortable, like going after Pete Buttigieg like that?
BOOKER: Again, I only saw the clip you did. I don't know if it was done tongue and cheek or funny. I just have a philosophy which is I will do nothing to tear down the character of anybody in this race. We're trying to show our positive truth.
And the reality is, is I was the mayor of New Jersey's largest city during a global recession. We turned it around, created tens of thousands of jobs, took a school system that was one of the worst- performing urban districts to now one of the best in the country.
I'm the guy that went to Washington, even with Republicans across the aisle, I found common ground and got -- even as a freshman, brought big pieces of legislation. In fact, the only major bipartisan piece of legislation --
ACOSTA: But, Senator, if --
BOOKER: -- under this President was when I led.
ACOSTA: If you don't qualify for the December debate, how do you stay in this race?
BOOKER: Well, that's --
ACOSTA: Doesn't that mean you're out at this point?
BOOKER: Well, first of all, I'm not coming to that conclusion, but that's the jeopardy we're facing right now, is that even though we're seeing fundraising surges, rises in popularity, great team on the ground, and endorsements, we want to make that debate stage. We have two weeks to do it. And if folks want my voice in this, please go to corybooker.com and contribute. That's how you keep in this.
ACOSTA: And you used the word, "jeopardy." I just want to make sure, you -- your candidacy is in jeopardy right now. Is that what you're saying?
BOOKER: No, sir, I said that we're in jeopardy of not making the debate stage.
ACOSTA: OK.
BOOKER: And that's something that we think is very important and very valuable. And we've heard from people -- and this is one of the reasons why I think so many people are going to corybooker.com in this period and contributing. This is why we're seeing some momentum now.
It's because people realize that my voice in this race is needed, and that we are still in the mix in Iowa. Especially if you look at what's going on on the ground as everybody from the Des Moines register to other local media have said, that mine and Elizabeth Warren's are two of the best organizing teams on the ground.
ACOSTA: All right.
BOOKER: So we have what it takes to win there, but we just need some help right now to make this debate stage. This is something new -- this qualifying sort of hurdles are new, and we need help getting there. And so, I hope folks will go to corybooker.com to contribute and help us out.
ACOSTA: All right. OK, thank you, Senator, very much. We appreciate it. Cory Booker, happy holidays. Thank you, sir.
Coming up --
BOOKER: Thank you.
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