In New Book, Sen. Cory Booker Urges Americans to Take a 'Stand'

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4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

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Summary

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said this weekend that Democrats have “failed to meet this moment” and that his party needed “generational renewal.” The comments come a year after the Democrat set a Senate record, holding the floor for 25 hours and five minutes as he offered thundering criticism of the Trump administration. Now, in his new book, ‘Stand,’ Booker urges the country to rise to this moment. To make his point, he highlights the stories of ten Americans, some famous and others less well-known, who also met moments of crisis with steadfastness, strength and optimism. “Our democracy is not a spectator sport,” writes Booker. “It demands participation.” Guests: Cory Booker, U.S. Senator from New Jersey; he was previously the Mayor of Newark from 2006-2013; his new book is "Stand" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Scott Schaefer, host of KQ80's Political Breakdown. Head over to Political Breakdowns
0:05.6	Feed Saturday, April 4th to catch a debate between the top three candidates trying to get
0:10.4	your vote for the San Francisco congressional seat, now held by Nancy Pelosi for the past 38 years.
0:16.9	We'll hear from San Francisco supervisor Connie Chan, former political advisor and software engineer
0:22.6	Shoycott Chakrabarty and California State Senator Scott Weiner on why they should be the one to replace the Speaker of Merida.
0:29.9	That's Saturday, April 4th. Search for Political Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts.
0:36.2	From KQED.
0:39.0	This is Forum. I'm Grace Swan in Fermina Kim. A year ago today, Corey Booker stood on the Senate
0:45.4	floor for 25 hours and five minutes to lambast the Trump administration for its assault
0:50.6	on democratic norms. It broke a longstanding Senate record held by civil rights
0:55.1	opponent Strom Thurmond, and that speech required three days of fasting and 24 hours without
1:00.2	drinking anything. In his new book, Stand, the senior senator from New Jersey urges Americans to
1:05.7	fight for a better future. Our democracy needs more than more from us than endless posting and scrolling rights
1:12.8	Booker because democracy is not a spectator sport. He joins us to talk about this moment and how the
1:18.8	activists he studied and those he has known are helping to inform his vision for the Democratic Party.
1:24.7	Welcome to forum, Senator Booker. It's so good to be on. Thank you for having me.
1:28.5	Well, Senator Booker, the arguments in the birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court have
1:33.1	just ended an hour ago. President Trump was in attendance for part of that argument. This court has
1:39.3	doled out both wins and losses for the president. Are you worried that it might overturn the president of
1:45.2	birthright citizenship? Yeah, I'm definitely worried. The signs are that they won't, but
1:50.5	when a case goes up to a Supreme Court that is this conservative, anything is possible. So I'm holding
1:57.0	my breath and waiting, though, to me, this is clear on the law.
	...

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