Cory Booker: “I Am Frankly Seething With Anger” Over Trump Comments, “Had Tears Of Rage”

“I hurt,” Booker said. “When Dick Durbin called me I had tears of rage when I heard about his experience in this meeting, and for you not to feel that hurt and that pain and to dismiss some of the questions of my colleagues … when tens of millions of Americas are hurting right now because of what they’re worried about what happened in the White House, that’s unacceptable to me!”

“For you not to feel that hurt and that pain and to dismiss some of the questions of my colleagues saying, ‘I’ve already answered that line of questions’ when tens of millions of Americans are hurting right now because of what they’re worried about right now in the White House — that’s unacceptable to me,” Booker yelled at Nielsen.

“Your silence and your amnesia is complicity,” he told Neilsen.

“Why is this so important? Why is this so disturbing for me? Why am I frankly seething with anger?” Booker asked. “We have this incredible nation where we have been taught that it does not matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter your color, your race, your religion, it’s about the content of your character. It’s about your values and your ideals, and yet we have a language that from Dick Durbin to Lindsey Graham, they seem to have a much better recollection of what went on. You’re under oath.”

“The commander in chief in an Oval Office meeting referring to people from African countries and Haitians with the most vile and vulgar language. That language festers when ignorance and bigotry is aligned with power. It is a dangerous force in our country. Your silence and your amnesia is complicity,” he said.

“I do clearly—and I want to be clear on this—abhor violence in all of its forms,” Neilsen replied. “I couldn’t agree with you more that the Department of Homeland Security has a duty to stop and prevent violence in all of its forms.”