Cory Booker Breaks Record With 25-Hour Speech Blasting Trump
Key Facts
Booker broke the record for the longest individual speech in Senate history, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., interrupting Booker to inform him he broke the record as the room erupted in cheers.
Booker said on social media he aimed “to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis.”
Booker criticized the Trump administration for “putting profits over people,” “trying to gut Medicaid and Medicare,” threatening changes to social security, dismantling the Education Department, accidentally deporting a Maryland resident and more.
Throughout the speech, Booker repeatedly said “this is not right or left, this is right or wrong” and he spent some of the 23 hours reading letters he said were from his constituents detailing their concerns around Trump’s policies and the role of Trump adviser Elon Musk and DOGE.
Booker yielded to questions from other Democrats to get a break from speaking, but has not given up the floor and remained standing to comply with Senate rules, the Associated Press reported.
Crucial Quote
“I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble”—a reference to the expression used by civil rights leader and politician Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.—“I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” Booker said Monday night. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis.”
What Have Democrats Said About Bookers Speech?
A number of Democratic lawmakers stepped in during Booker’s speech to ask him questions and give him a break, including Schumer, who took the opportunity to praise Booker’s “strength and conviction” and for “taking the floor tonight to bring up all these inequities that will hurt people, that will so hurt the middle class, that will so hurt poor people, that will hurt America, hurt our fiscal conditions.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also asked a question and used some of the time to praise Booker, saying he was “giving people hope” and helping bring attention on what is happening in America.
Is Cory Booker Filibustering?
Technically, no. According to the Senate, filibuster is a “loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.” No legislation or nomination is actually being blocked.
How Long Was Cory Booker On The Senate Floor For?
Booker took the floor at 7 p.m. EDT Monday night and spoke for 25 hours and four minutes before finally yielding the mic at around 8.05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
What Was The Previous Record For Longest Senate Speech?
Sen. Strom Thurmond, a lawmaker from South Carolina who was a Democrat before switching parties, held the record for the longest speech from an individual on the Senate floor. In 1957, he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to protest the Civil Rights Act of 1957. There have been longer speeches and all-night sessions throughout the Senate’s history, but many have included multiple lawmakers.
What Has Booker Said Since His Speech?
In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night, Booker spoke about breaking Thurmond’s record, saying it always “just really irked me, that he would be the longest speech — that the longest speech, on our great Senate floor, was someone who was trying to stop people like me from being in the Senate.” The senator said surpassing the segregationist lawmaker’s record “was something I didn’t know if we could do, but it was something that was really, once we got closer, became more and more important to me.” Booker told Maddow he was driven to speak after facing angry constituents who were demanding that Democrats do more to stand up to Trump’s agenda. “I do really credit constituents, who were impatient, who were demanding, who were scared, who were angry, and, very understandably, taking that anger out on Democrats, who have to take some responsibility for being where we are in American history right now.”
How Did Booker Prepare For The Marathon Speech?
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, Booker discussed the preparation that went into his speaking for over 25 hours. The Senator said he had deliberately starved and dehydrated himself, noting: “I fasted for days into it, I stopped drinking water a long time ago…I definitely started cramping up from lack of water…at the end, that was just trying… to stop my muscles from cramping.” He added that he stopped eating on Friday and stopped “drinking the night before I started on Monday…so instead of figuring out how to go bathroom, I ended up, I think really, unfortunately, dehydrating myself.”
Key Background
Booker was first elected as a senator in 2013 as part of a special election, and prior to that he served as mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He had an unsuccessful run for president in 2020 and dropped out of the race after he failed to meet the requirements for a debate in January 2020. Booker, 55, is a former Stanford University football player, which one of his colleagues, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., credited for his ability to hold the floor for so many hours.
Big Number
2.2 million. That is the total number of views Booker’s livestreamed speech has garnered on YouTube as of Wednesday morning. A broadcast of the speech on the senator’s X page has notched up 1.2 million view in total so far.
Comments
Post a Comment