Sen. Cory Booker announced Friday morning that he will join the long list of Democratic candidates challenging President Trump in 2020.
“I’m running for President of the United States of America,” he announced in an email to supporters.
The message was followed by the release of a video in which the New Jersey Democrat argues that “together, we will channel our common pain back into our common purpose. Together, America, we will rise.”
I’m running for president. Join me on this journey. https://t.co/fEDqOVIfwh pic.twitter.com/h1FTPUYRzo
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 1, 2019
He continued: "I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind; where parents can put food on the table; where there are good paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood; where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins; where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame."
Booker told reporters Thursday evening after a prayer service that his decision to run was made while he was on the campaign trail this past year.
“I saw the receptivity to me giving my authentic message out there, not shying away from the urgent calls of justice, not shying away from the need to stand up for those who are being left behind and left out,” he said.
“I saw that people didn’t just want a politician that’s going to stand up and say, ‘I’m going to punch Trump in the face.’ … I saw that people really did want to rise above it and pull people together back to our common ideals and common principles,” he added.
His message is questionable, however, given that he encouraged supporters to "get up in the face of some congresspeople" last year --a message Sen. Rand Paul's wife took issue with in an open letter to the senator after her family's experience with "intimidation, threats, and even physical violence."
Update: The RNC has responded to Booker's announcement.
“Cory Booker is a political opportunist who left Newark ridden with crime and an ‘emblem of poverty,’" said RNC Spokesman Michael Ahrens. "Even the liberal base thinks he’s a disingenuous self-promoter, and his embrace of policies like higher taxes, single-payer health care, and government-guaranteed jobs make him totally out-of-touch with most Americans.”