New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker laughed off his debate-stage attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden, saying that his criticisms had been presented “with humor and with grace.”
Booker appeared Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” to discuss his recent endorsement of his former rival.
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“Some people see this as quite the about-face considering how much you clashed with [Biden] over criminal justice reform, racial issues when you were on the debate stage,” Sunny Hostin began. “You’ve also famously shared your concerns about his ability to carry the ball all the way across the end line without fumbling. I think you said once, ‘There’s a saying in my community, you’re dipping into the Kool-Aid and you don’t even know the flavor. So what changed for you?”
Booker explained that nothing had really changed – he was simply following through on his promise to support the candidate he felt would be the best choice to beat President Donald Trump in November. (RELATED: Cory Booker Once Promised A Female VP — Now That He Could Be Chosen, He Won’t Give A Straight Answer)
“When you’re in a primary you’re running because you think you’re the best person so of course you’re going to have critiques,” Booker continued. “The reality is Joe and I actually bonded during the primaries. We had some exchanges but they were always done with a sense of dignity, not trying to tear down the character of the other person.”
Booker went on to say that the way the criticism was made could ultimately be more important than the criticism itself, adding, “You’re quoting a joke when I talked about being all up in the Kool-Aid. That was a criticism but it was done with humor and with grace, and so this is something we need right now. We have this cancel culture that’s going on where we tear each other down, where we judge each other by our lowest points in our histories as opposed to trying to elevate everybody to a higher point in history for us all collectively.”
Booker’s conclusion was that Biden, who has long been viewed as the more moderate candidate in the 2020 Democratic primary, was the best choice to continue down the road of bringing Americans together.