Cory Booker Says He Is Prepared To Go To Jail To Fight Trump
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker appeared on MSNBC’s The Briefing Thursday and made it clear — not even the threat of jail from President Donald Trump is going to shut him up.
During the segment, host Jen Psaki brought up Trump’s recent attacks and asked Booker what message he had for whistleblowers and others speaking out in a tense political environment.
“Trump attacked you today,” Psaki said. “You’re in elected office. You accept that, I know. But what do you say to people? What is your message to whistleblowers or people whose stories are so important to tell about why they should do it now, and what impact it could have?”
Booker didn’t hesitate. “Stand up and fight,” he said.
“I’m going to continue to fight,” he added. “I don’t care if this president calls me out every day, mean tweets me, threatens me.”
Booker pointed to arrests of officials in Newark as part of what he described as a broader effort to intimidate.
“We know I’ve had open conversations with senators I never thought I would have because we saw what they’ve done with a congressperson,” he said. “My Congresswoman LaMonica McIver — arresting her. My mayor — they’ve arrested. They’re picking off, it seems, people that live in Newark that are in elected positions. But I don’t care. Throw me in jail. Do what you have to do. I’m going to continue to stand up for what’s right.”
He ended with a call for others to join him.
“I’m hoping that when one person stands up and calls this out, it ignites the courage of another person and another person and another person,” Booker continued. “We have to, at a time that our fundamental rights and freedoms — that the very democracy we know is precious — is under attack by this president. We’ve got to have more people willing to stand up and fight and take him on.”
Rep. McIver, a Democrat from New Jersey, made her initial court appearance in May after being charged by the Department of Justice for allegedly assaulting ICE agents.
Appearing virtually from Washington, D.C., the judge ordered McIver to surrender her firearms and barred her from traveling outside the United States, at least until her preliminary hearing, which took place June 11.
Fox News reported that the New Jersey Democrat is fundraising off her indictment to “fight back” against what she claimed are charges motivated by racism.
Appearing via video, 38-year-old McIver was read her rights before being released on her own recognizance. She faces up to eight years in prison if convicted and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the New York Post.
McIver is prohibited from leaving the country unless travel is required for official duties, and must provide prior notice to the government in such cases, The Post said.
McIver, who has represented New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District since September, dismissed the charges as “purely political” and accused ICE agents at the scene of escalating the confrontation, though video of the altercation appears to clearly show her shoving and striking ICE agents at a New Jersey detention facility.
“It was very unnecessary,” she told CNN Tuesday, calling the charges “absurd” as she insisted she was “there to do my job.”
“If I’m going to be charged with a crime for doing my job, it really speaks to where we’re headed in this country,” she added.
Acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba defended the felony charges, telling The Post that the alleged assault of federal agents by the congresswoman was unacceptable.
“This has nothing to do with congressional oversight, and it has nothing to do with politics. It’s about respecting those who risk their lives to keep us safe,” said Habba, once President Donald Trump’s personal attorney.
Trump Issues Statement Regarding Health of Mitch McConnell
Weeks after former GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was hospitalized for a reportedly serious heart condition, there has been much speculation about his current condition.
Rumors are also swirling about whether he can complete his term, which ends in January.
Initially, reports said that McConnell suffered a “cardiac arrest” and was administered CPR – a health condition that is normally fatal, even for victims much younger than McConnell, who is 84 and has an extensive history of health problems.
But later, in one of the few public updates on the Kentucky Republican’s condition, his staff only said that he was receiving “excellent care.”
However, others who should know more about McConnell’s condition don’t. That includes the president of the United States.
Libby Dean, the White House correspondent for NewsNation, tweeted on Wednesday: “President Trump says he has ‘no idea’ how Sen. Mitch McConnell is doing and says he hasn’t spoken with the Kentucky Republican since McConnell’s hospitalization.”
Now, the governor of the Bluegrass State has grown concerned enough that he has reached out to the senator to inquire about his health.
“As Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” Gov. Andy Beshear,a Democrat who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, wrote in a letter to McConnell on Wednesday.
“As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent,” Beshear’s letter continued.
“I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve,” he added.
Several top Republicans were asked about McConnell’s condition on Tuesday, and their responses were not reassuring.
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee has said that even members of Congress are in the dark about McConnell’s current condition.
Speculation has surrounded the health of the 84-year-old McConnell since the Kentucky senator was found unconscious and required CPR at his home in Washington, D.C., weeks ago.
McConnell’s staff has provided no significant update on his condition since he was hospitalized June 14.
The secrecy has fueled speculation that there is an effort to keep the full extent of the Republican’s condition from the public and has raised questions about whether he will be able to return to office.
On Monday night, MAGA social media user Mila Joy wondered why other senators haven’t spoken out about McConnell’s condition.
“Because they are ALL in on it together. That’s why,” Joy posted to her 571,000 X followers.
In reply, Sen. Lee posted: “Many of us aren’t speaking about Mitch McConnell’s condition because we know nothing about his condition.”
But Lee’s assessment contradicts earlier comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune after McConnell was first hospitalized.
Thune said he had spoken to the 84-year-old and that he “sounded good.”
“He wants to be back, but I’ll defer to his staff on when,” Thune said on June 15.
Popular conservative activist Laura Loomer claimed recently that sources told her that McConnell is in a “vegetative state,” dismissing Thune’s version of events.
Things with McConnell have gotten worse by the day.
Since the reported incident, McConnell’s office has provided scant details on the former Senate GOP leader’s health condition, except to say that he allegedly “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
His office last week also said the 84-year-old senator “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
Trump ‘Briefed With Options’ Amid Stalled Iran Talks
The Trump administration on Wednesday continued to express optimism about negotiations with Iran, even as Iranian officials insist that no direct talks have taken place, according to reports.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said no face-to-face meeting had occurred in Doha and that no direct negotiations with the United States were currently planned.
Despite Tehran’s position, President Donald Trump described the discussions as “very good,” apparently referring to indirect contacts involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through third-party intermediaries.
Vice President JD Vance struck a firmer tone the same day, warning that the United States could escalate its response if Iran refuses to cooperate or takes actions that further destabilize the Middle East.
His remarks underscored the administration’s message that while it remains open to a diplomatic resolution, additional measures remain on the table if negotiations fail.
“If Iran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threaten its neighbors and support terrorism, President Trump has options to deal with it,” Vance noted, without elaborating.
Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Trump had been briefed on several military options, including “all-out war,” but Trump said he wanted to give diplomacy more time.
Vance additionally stated that the US “dropped bombs on Iran because it fired on ships, and we used leverage to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He went on to suggest that the U.S. could take that course of action again.
Vance also said the current talks are “to discuss the details and flow of maritime traffic.”
The vice president, addressing U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Virginia on Wednesday, also said that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back decades.
“If you look at what our own intelligence says about their nuclear program, they are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20 or 30 years,” Vance said, though he stopped short of Trump’s claim that the program had been “totally obliterated.”
“What the president asks you to accomplish is to destroy the defense industrial base of that country, so that if they ever decided to rebuild their military, or if they ever decided to rebuild that nuclear program, they would be harmless to do it. You did that exactly as well,” Vance added, per the Times of Israel.
The VP went on to say that Trump is now “negotiating from a position of strength because of you.”
“If the Iranians try to rebuild the nuclear program, the President’s got options. If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we’ve got options,” Vance continued.
“But what we must never do is drop bombs just for the sake of dropping bombs. And that is what the president will never ask you to do,” Vance added.
“He’ll ask you to go to war, yes. But when he asks you to go to war, he’ll tell you exactly what you’re going for,” the veep noted further.
“And I think that is what you should expect out of your political leadership.”
“What I noticed about the people who are attacking the administration for negotiating is that they are the very same people who, for example, encouraged us to just go a little bit further and just drop a few more bombs in places like Afghanistan,” he said.
“If you go back to the mistakes that were made, those very same people refused to say what we were dropping bombs for,” he added.
“We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago… Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships… We applied some leverage, and we’ve had free commercial transit for the last three days,” Vance told the naval personnel.
