Sen. Booker: Iran war has been a 'global economic shock' with 'no off-ramp'

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May 12, 2026 #trump #politics #congress

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joins Erielle Reshef to discuss the latest on the war with Iran and the fallout of the Supreme Court lifting a block on Alabama's GOP-led congressional map. MS NOW: My Source for News, Opinion, and the World. » Subscribe to MS NOW:

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Transcript

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1 second

Booker of New Jersey, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, thanks so much for being with us today.

6 seconds

What questions should Secretary Hegseth be facing?

9 seconds

Well, first of all, it's astounding to me that he has been on the hill so little.

15 seconds

Remember, we are now engaged in a war that's going on for months. It's cost tens of billions of dollars.

21 seconds

It's skyrocketed Americans' costs that has cost the lives of 14 service people and there are so many questions they're not answering.

28 seconds

And they're lying to the American public. They say that the war operations are over.

33 seconds

Well, a blockade that involves aircraft carriers and the attendant fleets, thousands

41 seconds

WE HAVE AN EXCHANGE OF FIRE WITH THE IRANIANS WHO CAUSED SERIOUS DAMAGE TO OUR ALLIES LIKE THE U .A .E.

48 seconds

SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS HE HAS TO ANSWER FOR BUT THIS CONGRESS STILL CONTINUES, LED BY REPUBLICANS, TO DO VERY LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY,

56 seconds

VERY LITTLE OVERSIGHT, VERY LITTLE CHECKS AND BALANCES.

1 minute

PRESIDENT TRUMP HIMSELF DESCRIBED THE CEASE-FIRE WITH IRAN AS BEING ON LIFE SUPPORT, HE SAID THAT yesterday.

1 minute, 6 seconds

Where does that leave things in your mind right now?

1 minute, 8 seconds

Do you expect a return to fighting and what could that look like?

1 minute, 11 seconds

Yeah, this has been the most disastrous move this president could have made.

1 minute, 16 seconds

He took a situation where the Strait of Hormuz was open.

1 minute, 18 seconds

And it's made it closed with dramatically bad consequences for Americans and security in that region.

1 minute, 24 seconds

Remember, they still have their highly enriched fissile material.

1 minute, 28 seconds

Remember, it is now more extreme regime than it was before, and now we have a global economic shock going on with no off-ramp.

1 minute, 36 seconds

This president has led our nation into a trap, and now the most powerful nation on the planet is in a virtual stalemate with Iran.

1 minute, 44 seconds

This is embarrassing, this is wrong and this is costly and he has no answers about how he's going to resolve this, with the exception of to start bombing again,

1 minute, 53 seconds

which has not brought what he said he wants unconditional surrender. It certainly has not.

1 minute, 59 seconds

So we are in a bad moment and we have to find a way out.

2 minutes, 3 seconds

Six times now, I know you know this, six times now Senate Democrats have tried to move forward with a war powers resolution, only to be blocked by Senate Republicans.

2 minutes, 11 seconds

Do Democrats have any other recourse that they plan to use to try to rein in the president if the strikes start again on Iran?

2 minutes, 19 seconds

Well, remember, it's been me and a handful of my colleagues have been leading this charge to force the United States Senate, the world's most deliberative body,

2 minutes, 27 seconds

to confront the reality that we are at war and to have votes on that.

2 minutes, 31 seconds

We're going to continue to bring those down because the Senate wants to operate as if business is normal and usual, like that people are not dealing

2 minutes, 38 seconds

with horrific cost shocks, seeing their prices go up and losing their health care.

2 minutes, 43 seconds

They want to go on as business as usual, that we're not at war in a regime that it's yet another Middle East quagmire. So we're going to force these votes.

2 minutes, 50 seconds

And yes, I am seeing cracks in Republicans.

2 minutes, 52 seconds

Remember, the last time we did this, we had another Republican join us and Susan Collins from Maine.

2 minutes, 58 seconds

So I'm going to continue to lead this effort to not let the Senate look the other way.

3 minutes, 2 seconds

And eventually, I believe we're going to be able to expose the truth is that we have a president that has led us into a quagmire that's costing Americans every single day in the prices they're paying.

3 minutes, 13 seconds

We know that Susan Collins has voted with the Democrats on this.

3 minutes, 17 seconds

Are you having any conversations behind closed doors with other Republicans?

3 minutes, 20 seconds

Do you feel confident that you could get one of these measures passed through at some point with some bipartisan support?

3 minutes, 25 seconds

Well, we know we're on the right side of the American people who don't approve this war.

3 minutes, 29 seconds

We know we're on the right side of history that this will go down as another unnecessary disasterous quagmire in the Middle East. We are in the right here.

3 minutes, 37 seconds

And so, yes, I'm having conversations, very strong ones, as much as possible to let people know that it is safe to stand up against this president.

3 minutes, 45 seconds

That's what the Senate was designed for.

3 minutes, 48 seconds

We know in history, we don't only look bad at the people that did dumb, dangerous things like presidents, But we also look badly at the people that were

3 minutes, 55 seconds

complicit enablers who knew it was wrong but supported those bad actions anyway.

4 minutes, 1 second

The president is heading to China later today for the summit with China's leaders.

4 minutes, 8 seconds

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO COME OUT OF THAT MEETING AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THE PRESIDENT THAT HE SHOULD FOCUS ON WHILE HE'S THERE?

4 minutes, 15 seconds

WELL, AGAIN, THERE ARE CHINA HAWKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE THAT ALL SHOULD REALIZE THIS PRESIDENT HAS WEAKENED AMERICA VIS-A-VIS CHINA AND SHOWN

4 minutes, 23 seconds

NOT ONLY HAS A WEAKENED AMERICA BUT THAT WE HAVE A WEAK PRESIDENT.

4 minutes, 26 seconds

LET ME GIVE YOU ONE SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, THIS PRESIDENT BROUGHT OUT CHAOTIC TARRIFFS THAT HAVE HURT AMERICAN FARMERS

4 minutes, 36 seconds

INFLATION, CHINA HAS SEIZED UPON THE MARKETS THAT WE HAVE VACATED.

4 minutes, 40 seconds

PEOPLE NOW IN MANY PLACES, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR FARM PRODUCTS who would rather do business with China and not with us, and we have lost markets and hurt our economy.

4 minutes, 48 seconds

This is a president that continues to surrender ground to the Chinese.

4 minutes, 51 seconds

Look at what's happening in Africa as we retreat from that continent, and they fill the VACUUM, AND SO SHE KNOWS THAT, SHE IS PLEASED RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE CAUGHT UP

5 minutes

IN A MIDDLE EAST WAR MOVING ASSETS FROM THE ASIAN REGION INTO THE MIDDLE EAST TO DEAL WITH THIS CONFLICT THAT SHOULD NOT BE STARTED FOR THE FIRST PLACE.

5 minutes, 8 seconds

SO OUR PRESIDENT IS GOING INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH OUR BIGGEST GLOBAL RIVAL IN A WEAKENED POSITION WHO HAS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE A WEAK STRATEGIST.

5 minutes, 17 seconds

I'M VERY CONCERNED.

5 minutes, 19 seconds

I WANT TO SWITCH GEARS HERE AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEE IS THE FALLOUT FROM THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION LAST WEEK ON VOTING RIGHTS.

5 minutes, 26 seconds

THE HIGH COURT MONDAY CLEARED THE WAY FOR ALABAMA TO REDRAW ITS MAP TO ELIMINATE A MAJORITY BLACK DISTRICT. WHERE DOES ALL OF THIS GO NEXT?

5 minutes, 35 seconds

WELL, REMEMBER, THIS IS A SUPREME COURT THAT HAS BASICALLY SAID WE WANT TO GO BACK TO THE POST-RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD WHERE SOUTHERN STATES WERE TRYING TO EVISCERATE BLACK REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS.

5 minutes, 45 seconds

IN THE EARLY MID-1800S, WE We had African-Americans serving from Southern states in the House of Representatives.

5 minutes, 51 seconds

And then a reign of terror came down in the South.

5 minutes, 54 seconds

Legislators put in place all kinds of tricks, poll taxes, dilution of black voices that EVISCERATED BLACK REPRESENTATION.

6 minutes, 2 seconds

IN EFFECT, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING BACK TO WHEN WE SEE ALABAMA, TENNESSEE AND OTHERS CARVING UP DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE

6 minutes, 10 seconds

THAT POPULATIONS THAT REPRESENT 20, 25, LOUISIANA.

6 minutes, 14 seconds

Louisiana, a third of their states have no representation in Congress. This is wrong.

6 minutes, 19 seconds

The Supreme Court has been wrong before in Plessy versus Ferguson and Korematsu.

6 minutes, 23 seconds

When you take away rights from people, you send us back.

6 minutes, 28 seconds

IT'S NOT ABOUT DEMOCRATIC VERSUS REPUBLICAN, IT'S ABOUT RIGHT VERSUS WRONG.

6 minutes, 34 seconds

THESE MIDTERMS COMING UP WILL BE A CHANCE FOR AMERICANS TO SAY PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING IS WRONG, THE The Supreme Court is wrong.

6 minutes, 41 seconds

We are not going back to dark times in our history, we're going to go forward to a time where we have fair maps, fair representations,

6 minutes, 49 seconds

where we have a nation where everyone's vote is treated equally.

6 minutes, 54 seconds

REPUBLICANS FEEL LIKE THE WIND IS IN, IN THEIR SAILS GIVEN THE VICTORIES BASED GIVEN THE VICTORIES THEY'VE SEEN ON THIS ISSUE IN THE, THE PAST FEW WEEKS. HOW WILL DEMOCRATS FIGHT BACK WHAT CAN YOU DO?

7 minutes, 4 seconds

WELL, I THINK THAT THE WAY WE DO IT IS TO WIN IN NOVEMBER.

7 minutes, 8 seconds

PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN FAIR MAPS, PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN FAIR MAPS, PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACIES THAT ARE ACTUALLY REPRESENTATIVE AND NOT JUST WHERE

7 minutes, 16 seconds

PEOPLE IN POWER CONSOLIDATE THEIR POWER BY UPENDING ANY IDEAS OF FAIRNESS.

7 minutes, 21 seconds

THIS IS THE ELECTION WHERE A LOT MORE IS ON THE BALLOT THAN THE NORMAL POLITICS OF WASHINGTON.

7 minutes, 26 seconds

THIS This is a moral election and a movement election.

7 minutes, 29 seconds

And I'm hoping the way we win, and I say we, not meaning Democrats, but I'm talking about people who believe in this democracy, the way we win is having record-level turnouts in November.

7 minutes, 39 seconds

We need to organize and mobilize like we did in the 1960s to overcome those people that want to send us back to the late 1800s.

7 minutes, 48 seconds

Another issue on the ballot will be affordability, which has been a key focus of Democrats. A new poll found that more than half of U .S.

7 minutes, 56 seconds

voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy, and new numbers out this morning show inflation is at its highest level in nearly three years.

8 minutes, 3 seconds

I'd love to ask you, Senator, what tangible economic solutions can your party offer now to address the frustration that voters are feeling across the country?

8 minutes, 12 seconds

How can you leverage this moment?

8 minutes, 14 seconds

Well, first of all, I've put forward big ideas that would immediately put thousands of dollars back in Americans' pockets, like raising the standard deduction

8 minutes, 23 seconds

for a family to $75 ,000 and pay for it completely by getting rid of these tax loopholes that Donald Trump has expanded for the wealthiest corporations and the WEALTHIEST INDIVIDUALS.

8 minutes, 33 seconds

IT'S A WAY TO LEVEL OUR TAX SYSTEM AND GIVE PEOPLE LITERALLY MAYBE 10 % PLUS BOOSTS TO THEIR ANNUAL INCOMES.

8 minutes, 40 seconds

DEMOCRATS HAVE BIG IDEAS, BUT THE POWER IN WASHINGTON IS COMPLETELY IN THE REPUBLICANS column.

8 minutes, 46 seconds

They control the Senate, they control the House, they control the White House.

8 minutes, 49 seconds

And what should be even more pointed is that they created this problem.

8 minutes, 53 seconds

They gutted a trillion dollars from Medicaid and failed to expand the subsidies for Obamacare, making millions lose their health insurance and see their prices skyrocket.

9 minutes, 3 seconds

Donald Trump's chaotic tariff policy and his war in Iran has sent everybody's prices skyrocketing, from pain at the pump to the cost

9 minutes, 10 seconds

of the things families need to get by so this party has caused the worst economic shock and disaster we have seen since the 1970s

9 minutes, 19 seconds

and we democrats have ideas to change that but it brings us back to this election right now you are not better off than you were almost two years ago.

9 minutes, 29 seconds

You are worse off from the Strait of Hormuz being closed to health care prices going up to gas prices going up enough of this party driving us into another economic ditch.

9 minutes, 39 seconds

It is time for a change.

9 minutes, 42 seconds

Senator Cory Booker, we covered a lot of ground there. Hope you'll come back. We'll cover more. Thank you so much for taking time on a busy day. Appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2026