CNN "State of the Union" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Cory Booker

Interview

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BASH: Hello. I'm Dana Bash, in for Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is, here we go again.

President Trump is beginning yet another Sunday with an attack on four freshman Democratic congresswomen, tweeting just moments ago: "I don't believe the four congresswomen are capable of loving our country. They should apologize to America and Israel for the horrible, hateful things they said. They are destroying the Democratic Party, but are weak and insecure people who can never destroy our great nation."

Now, it was exactly a week ago this morning that the president told the same four congresswomen to -- quote -- "go back and fix the countries they came from" in a series of racist tweets.

By midweek, the president was disavowing a chant by his own supporters at a rally provoked by those tweets to -- quote -- "send her back" about Somali-born Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, an American citizen, and falsely saying he had spoken up to quickly stop those chants.

Now, on Friday, the president reversed himself, calling the rally- goers incredible patriots.

And now, today, he's questioning those congresswomen's love of the country.

So, joining me now is someone who is running to replace President Trump, 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Good morning, Senator.

Let me start by asking about the president.

And you said the president's original comment was racist. Many of your opponents, Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, they have called Trump himself a racist.

What makes you stop short of that?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I actually am not.

And the reality is, this is a guy who is worse than a racist. He is actually using racist tropes and racial language for political gains, trying to use this as a weapon to divide our nation against itself. And this is somebody who is very similar to George Wallace, to racists who use -- he's using the exact same language.

As somebody texted me during his rallies, I have seen this before in black and white. And now I'm seeing it again decades later, where I thought our country was beyond this. I'm seeing this in full color.

So, this election in many ways is yet another chapter in our American history. We have seen it with the Know Nothing Party, which was trying to stop Irish and German immigrants. We have seen it with McCarthyism.

We have a demagogue, fear-mongering person who's using race to divide. And this is a referendum, not on him. It's actually a referendum on the heart and soul of our country.

BASH: Well, let... BOOKER: Who are we going to be and who are we going to be to each other?

BASH: So let's talk about your race to get the chance to run against President Trump.

CNN announced this week the lineup for the Democratic debate next week. You will be on the stage right next to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Your deputy communications director tweeted about next week's debate and said the following: "Mark the date, July 31, 2019. Joe Biden finally gets his own Senate Judiciary Committee hearing."

What does that mean?

BOOKER: I'm not sure. I didn't see the tweet.

I'm looking forward to being on that stage with people that are vying for the most important job in our country and looking forward to putting out a vision of what we need for the future of our party.

And we need leaders not only good and sharp on the ideas, but back to that issue of the soul of our nation...

BASH: Well...

BOOKER: ... is, who can really divide -- excuse me -- at a time that Trump is trying to divide, who can really unite, not just our party, but who can unite the country as a whole?

BASH: Joe Biden, of course, came under fire for his handling of the Anita Hill hearings when he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Do you think it's about that? And, more importantly, is that something that's in the front of your mind as you think about preparing for this debate?

BOOKER: Well, look, you know, there are issues in -- all across our country that we're still struggling with and challenges.

[09:05:07]

We're still in a nation which does not treat women on equal footing, whether it's equal pay for equal work or the scourge of sexual assault that still is something in our country, even, as I saw recently in the Senate, where we are not dealing with as we should listening to women.

And even more than that, we see a criminal justice system that not only attacks women -- we have 86 percent of the women we incarcerate are survivors of sexual assault -- but a prison system that was supercharged by things like the 1994 crime bill.

So we have to solve these problems and do it today. I'm proud to have been a part of...

BASH: So... BOOKER: ... in fact, one of the leaders of the only major bipartisan bill that passed through the Senate to reverse the things that were caused by the 1994 crime bill.

BASH: So, just -- I want to move on, but, just to be clear, you don't know what the context of a tweet by your own spokesperson?

BOOKER: No, I do not.

BASH: OK.

Let's talk about your record, which you are running on. You were mayor of Newark.

And part of that record comes with a DOJ report which talks about some of your time with mayor and says that black residents were at least two-and-a-half times more likely than residents to be stopped, be arrested or searched.

And the report says this about black residents -- quote -- "This undeniable experience of being disproportionately affected by the Newark Police Department's unconstitutional policing helps explain the community distrust and cynicism that undermines effective policing in Newark."

Do you take any responsibility for the way this policing hurt black residents of Newark under your watch?

BOOKER: Yes, I actually took responsibility.

Most folks who know New Jersey know I inherited a police department that had decades of challenges with accountability, challenges along racial lines.

And we actually stepped up to deal with the problem, not only working with the DOJ, but working with the ACLU to put forward what was a national standard-setting level of accountability.

So I'm proud of that record as a mayor of trying to take on these problems. And, frankly, as a senator, I have been one of the few senators that have put forth legislation to create more police accountability, more transparency, so that we could begin to deal with some of the deep racial issues that we have that permeate not just policing, but also everything from prosecutorial actions to our criminal justice system as a whole.

We had real challenges in the city of Newark. And we worked hard not only to deal with that, but, on prisoner reentry programs and transforming our court system, we did a lot of things that really have become models for what needs to happen, not just in New Jersey...

BASH: But...

BOOKER: ... but in our nation as a whole.

BASH: I want to get to a couple of other issues, health care, of course, which is a huge one in the race for the Democratic nomination

Your 2020 opponent Kamala Harris, who supports Medicare for all, like you do, said this week that she would not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for it. Joe Biden went on the attack about it this week.

Let's listen.

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BIDEN: Now, you have a lot of people out there supporting this plan who are running saying, but I'm not for that tax.

Well, there's no way to pay for it if you don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So you're a co-sponsor of Medicare for all. Would you raise taxes on the middle class to pay for it?

BOOKER: First of all, I'm a co-sponsor of a lot of bills that can deal with this savagely broken system, the costs of which are tremendously, to the tune of hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars, more than a lot of other countries are paying.

We have a deeply broken system. If I am president of the United States, the first step that I'm going to take is to create a public option that actually will reduce costs within the system, driving down prescription drug costs, attacking the bureaucracy that's going on.

As somebody who actually had to run something, I was a chief executive of our state's largest city during a recession. We found ways to battle back bureaucracy, lower costs, and make things more efficient.

BASH: But, Senator, do you want to do that?

BOOKER: That's the first thing I will do.

BASH: OK, but do you want to do that with the Medicare for all plan? Because you're a co-sponsor, that suggests that the answer is yes. But you're saying maybe not?

BOOKER: No, look, what I have said very clearly to folks is, I believe that Medicare for all is the end that we should be seeking.

But anybody who says that, it can't be a political slogan. There has to be a pathway there. And the first step in that pathway is actually creating a vibrant public option, driving down costs for Americans, creating options, so people don't have to ration their prescription drugs.

And so I...

BASH: So, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, they would do Medicare for all at the beginning.

BOOKER: Well... BASH: They get in the White House, and that would be what they would

do.

For you, the answer is no?

BOOKER: And, Dana, you and I both know that, even if we had 60 votes in the Senate right now, all the Democrats in the Senate wouldn't even support that.

This is about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. I'm -- we're dealing with a country right now that needs a lot more good. And so the next step of what...

[09:10:01]

BASH: So, is Medicare for all unrealistic?

BOOKER: No.

Look, Medicare for all is what we should be going for, but the first step getting there has to be showing that we can create a public option, allowing Medicare to be more -- available for more people.

And if we do that, by the way, we will drive down costs, because people from private pools will begin to choose Medicare for all. Elder people, more older people, 55, 56, will choose that public option, which will make those private pools go down. And if we do the commonsense things...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: And you're right. I do know the reality of Congress.

But I just want to make sure that we're clear here. You just said Medicare for all, what you said is your aspiration, can't pass. So it wouldn't be your first issue out of the gate?

BOOKER: Well, first of all, I'm not taking -- I'm not taking anything off the table.

I believe that this election for our nation needs to be a movement election. So we don't necessarily know what the -- what Congress is going to look like.

My goal is that, in America -- all Americans agree with this, that, in this country, health care should be a right. Nobody should be being denied health care opportunities because they can't afford them.

And so what's the first steps that we can take to begin to get there? They have to involve increasing access and lowering costs for Americans. And I am more than confident that I can be the president to deliver on that, pragmatic steps that can pull new coalitions together to advance us towards our ultimate goal, everybody having health care in America.

BASH: Senator, your Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders is under fire from his own campaign staff for not paying some of them salaries of $15 per hour.

You also support a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Do you pay your campaign staff that?

BOOKER: You know, we have said in our campaign that we're not only going to pay our campaign staff that, but we're going to pay interns as well.

So I'm very proud of the house that we have. Not only do we pay our campaign staff wages that reflect what my values are, but we actually make sure that we have inclusive campaigns, diverse campaigns.

BASH: So it's $15 an hour minimum?

BOOKER: It's $15 an hour or more than that, yes.

BASH: OK. OK.

I want to ask about something that you were recently asked. And that is about whether or not you would meet with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. He's unabashedly anti-Semitic.

He said -- quote -- "I don't" -- you said -- quote -- "I don't feel like I need to do that, but I'm not one of those people who says that I wouldn't sit down with anybody to hear what they have to say."

Is that still where you are?

BOOKER: Well, first of all, that -- that is completely taken out of context, that larger conversation.

BASH: OK, give me the context.

BOOKER: I will not sit -- I will not sit down with Louis Farrakhan, period. And I reject anybody who preaches that kind of bigotry and hate towards other American.

BASH: OK, thank you for clearing that up.

Let's talk about this coming week. The former special counsel Robert Mueller, he's going to testify before Congress, as you well know.

He did not make a determination during his investigation in the report about whether the president committed a crime. He cited Justice Department guidelines that say a sitting president can't be indicted.

Your 2020 opponent Elizabeth Warren wants to get rid of that policy. Would you as president?

BOOKER: Well, first of all, I want to be specific, because we're going to have a big week ahead, with Mueller coming before Congress.

And what I see in the behavior that I see in that -- outlined with great specificity in that report, that many federal prosecutors have come out and said are indictable offenses and something that does -- is tantamount to obstruction or obstruction itself. I believe Congress has a role to play right now. And I have been

someone who's called for the beginnings of impeachment proceedings, especially because we have a president right now who is not allowing Congress to do its job, which is to provide checks and balances of the administration, to provide oversight and investigation.

So this is a moment where, as someone who swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, we have a president that is acting not like the leader of the free world, but more like an authoritarian figure.

BASH: Senator Cory...

BOOKER: And so we...

BASH: Go ahead. Finish your thought.

BOOKER: I just want to finish the sentence.

We need to begin impeachment proceedings against this president.

BASH: Thank you. Thank you very much. Sorry for the delay there.

I appreciate you joining me this morning, Senator.

BOOKER: No, thank you for having me on.

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