Sen. Cory Booker made history last week with his 25-hour filibuster decrying the actions of the Trump administration. Today on The View, he reflected on his record-breaking speech, but declined to answer Sunny Hostin‘s question about what he future could hold for the New Jersey politician.
“Senator, people have been looking to the Democratic party for a fighter. For a resistance leader, for an opposition party, and you gave them that, so thank you,” Hostin told her guest.
She continued, “You called this a moral moment, and on the floor you invoked John Lewis saying, ‘If it is to be, it is up to me.’ So, there have been mounting calls for fresh Senate leadership — myself among them — so why not you?”
Booker replied, but didn’t deliver a yes or no to Hostin’s question about him taking the reins as Senate Minority leader, a role that is currently held by Sen. Chuck Schumer.
“Well, you know, Ella Baker said it so famously: ‘We are the leaders that we’ve been looking for,’” Booker began. “Americans, we don’t need a title to lead, you don’t need a position to lead. We all have the capacity to lead.”
He then referenced John McCain’s 2017 vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, when “20 million Americans could have lost healthcare.” Booker said now, it could be “80, 90 million Americans that lose healthcare.”
“In those days, I would like to say it was Senate Democratic leadership through our devastatingly articulate eloquence that persuaded John McCain, but that’s just not true,” he said with a small laugh, adding that McCain “famously put his thumb down” because real Americans approached Senators and were “speaking truth to power.”
Booker told Hostin, “Real leaders are those that don’t say, ‘Follow me.’ They’re the ones that inspire other people to realize that they are leaders.”
Hostin’s question to Booker comes not long after Schumer appeared on The View and was grilled by the co-host, who was openly disappointed in his decision to vote for the G.O.P. spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.
“It gives me no pleasure to say this to you… but I think you caved. I think you and nine other Democrats caved,” Hostin told Schumer on a March 18 episode.
She continued, “I don’t think you showed the fight that this party needs right now, because you’re playing by a rule book where the other party has thrown that rule book away,” as Schumer himself replied, “True.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.
