PELHAM, New Hampshire — Cory Booker took a veiled dig at Democratic presidential candidates such as Joe Biden on Sunday, who err on the side of pragmatism.
“There’s one word I can’t stand: it’s ‘realistically.’ And the reason why I can’t stand is because I was the mayor of a city that had decades of crime and corruption as its reputation,” the New Jersey senator and former Newark mayor told voters in Pelham, New Hampshire, a Republican-heavy town in the Granite State.
Booker then detoured into steps he took as chief executive of the state capital from 2006 to 2013 to improve its image before he was elected to the Senate.
“My whole career has been about not accepting people thinking what’s in the realm of possible. I want to challenge folks because I know American history like you know American history. American history actually is a perpetual testimony to the achievement of the impossible,” he said. “We brought major majorities together, new American majorities, not just Democrats, but Democrats who would work with Republicans, who would work with independents to do things that defied the realm of possibility. This summer we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of putting someone on the moon. If I am your president, I promise you we will defy gravity again.”
Booker’s comments were in response to a question from a voter asking how he “realistically” would “set the foundation” to unite the country after President Trump because “one person can’t undo all this.”
His stance rubs with that of centrist White House hopefuls, such as Biden, as the Democratic Party grapples with an ascendant Left wing.
Biden, during his own tour of New Hampshire this weekend, took multiple swings at his political rivals for their positions on “Medicare for All,” saying they “mean well.” He also described his moderate climate change proposal as the “most far-reaching plan that’s really in reach.”
When asked about his remarks, Booker told the Washington Examiner he was “a fierce pragmatist” looking to change “the realm of what’s possible.”
“But I’m also somebody that says we need to expand the moral imagination in this country of what’s possible,” he said.
Booker, who is polling on average 1.8% support according to RealClearPolitics, added he was unconcerned about the public opinion research.
“We pay attention to actually meeting voters, and engaging them, and seeing what they believe that,” the senator said.
