On Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Democrats had “failed this moment,” so new leadership was needed.
Host Kristen Welker said, “Senator, let’s talk about your new book. I have it right here. Stand. I’m going to read a little portion for everyone. You write, quote, ‘We cannot cancel everyone who fails a purity test. We cannot exile those who don’t align with our every belief, however passionately we hold it. Coalitions that are only composed of the already converted cannot change the country. If everyone in your coalition agrees with you on everything, your coalition is too small, too small to make big change and too small for what our democracy demands.’ Do you believe Democrats are making the mistake of shrinking their coalition with what you describe as purity tests?”
Booker said, “Look, I’m proud of so many things that my Democratic colleagues are doing, but as a whole, our party has failed. This moment, it’s why I’ve called for new leadership in America. I’ve called for a generational renewal because this left-right divide is killing our country, and our adversaries know it. They come on to our social media, try to whip up hate in America. That is one of our biggest crises. It is time for a new vision of our country that’s far more uniting, that brings people together, doesn’t deepen divides. I really believe this is a time where we need new leadership, new moral imagination to pull our country together, because the challenges on the horizon aren’t just this current crisis that Trump has caused. He shouldn’t be the main character of our narrative right now. We have real challenges from new technologies like AI and robotics, new challenges that we need more unity in our country, and a reminder that we are not each other’s enemies. In fact, our ability to find common ground is always been our greatest hope.”
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