NEW YORK — Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called on people to “stand up” at his book tour stop Tuesday at Temple Emanu-El on the one-year anniversary of his historic 25-hour speech on the Senate floor.
The nine-city tour is part of Booker’s release for Stand, a book that evaluates the state of the government and delves into the virtues he believes people need to uphold to restore the country.
“When we stand up, when we stand strong, we ignite someone else, and that’s what we need right now,” Booker said to a crowd of over 300 people. “There has to be a popular movement, not just against Donald Trump, but for our nation.”
CBS anchor Gayle King moderated the conversation, which lasted over an hour, with the two discussing the Iran war, the partial government shutdown, and moments from Booker’s book.
In the book, Booker asserts there are 10 virtues people need to uphold for the nation to “prevail,” weaving personal anecdotes and historical events to demonstrate these characteristics in action.
During the event, Booker reflected on his historic speech. On March 31, 2025, he surpassed the longest Senate speech by the late South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond, who used his speech to delay passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“One year ago tonight, we knew that there was this sort of, almost like a state of, like, deep frustration, but not enough standing up, not enough believing that there were people fighting,” Booker said.
Stand served as a call to action for citizens, while also fueling speculation about a 2028 presidential campaign.
Booker, who ran for president in 2020, follows other possible 2028 contenders who published books and went on book tours, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).
It is common practice for politicians to release a memoir before launching a presidential campaign as a way to introduce themselves more to the public.
Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden released books ahead of their successful presidential bids in 2006 and 2017, respectively.
While Booker has not announced a presidential campaign, he has revealed that he is considering another White House run.
In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Booker said he is “definitely not ruling out” a presidential bid in 2028, adding to a number of ambiguous statements he has made on the topic.
At the end of the event, Booker sidestepped a question about whether he is running for president in 2028, focusing on the “dark period” under Trump.
“This, to me, often out of the darkest periods of our country’s history comes some of the best periods we can,” he said. “Most of America is losing faith in the American dream.”
“I think we need to redeem that dream, and I’m going to be part of that, whether it’s the presidential candidate or not,” he continued.
Throughout the hourlong event, there were five pro-Palestinian protests that broke out.
King attempted to bring the conversation back to the topics at hand, but just as Booker would begin to answer, another protester would start screaming.
After one of the outbursts, Booker said this is “why I love New York,” while King suggested the protests were “orchestrated.”
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Booker opened his book tour on March 22 in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, and continued to tour in Atlanta, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Chicago, notably all blue-stronghold cities that Harris also visited on her book tour.
His last two scheduled book tour stops are in California this weekend.