Cory Booker stood before cameras in 2016 and said three words he cannot take back: "I love Trump."
Ten years later, NBC's Kristen Welker played that clip directly to his face on Meet the Press.
But Cory Booker had no answer – only a pivot to Bible verses and the Declaration of Independence.
Cory Booker Said "I Love Donald Trump" on Camera in 2016
The moment happened Sunday morning, March 29, when Welker rolled the 2016 footage and asked Booker point-blank: "Do you still love Donald Trump?"
In the original clip, Booker was unambiguous.
"I love Donald Trump," he said. "I'm going to say that. I don't want to answer his hate with hate. I'm not going to answer his darkness with darkness. I love him."
Those were not hedged words.
Booker said them on CNN the morning after the 2016 Democratic convention, then repeated variations of the phrase for months.
When Welker put them back on screen in 2026, Booker did what Democrats always do when their own words come back to haunt them — he changed the subject.
"I'm a Christian," he said, "and my faith is very clear: Love your enemies, love your adversaries."
https://twitter.com/ConserLibrarian/status/2038619532957274176?s=20
Notice what he didn't say.
He never claimed to still believe it, and he never admitted he was wrong.
He buried the original statement under enough scripture to make the audience forget what they had just seen.
Tom Homan Caught Booker Lying About ICE at Airports
Here is what makes this story worse than a simple flip-flop.
Six days before that Meet the Press interview, Booker erupted on the Senate floor over ICE airport deployments — the same agency that is clearing TSA lines for American travelers by removing illegal immigrants from the queue.
Booker screamed that Trump was taking the agency and bringing it to airports, calling the whole thing an outrage.
Border Czar Tom Homan fired back directly and without apology.
"He's misleading the American people, he's lying," Homan said.
He challenged Booker to name a single verified example of ICE entering a church, a hospital, or an elementary school to make an arrest.
Booker could not name one.
The outrage had no evidence behind it.
And it gets sharper than that.
Last April, Booker delivered the longest continuous floor speech in Senate history — 25 hours and 5 minutes — to protest Trump's second term.
He fasted beforehand. He rationed his water.
The previous record had been held since 1957 by Strom Thurmond, a man who set it filibustering the Civil Rights Act.
https://twitter.com/overton_news/status/2036254435702088004?s=20
Booker stood in that spot for 25 hours attacking Donald Trump.
He once said he loved Donald Trump.
Both of those things are on tape.
Booker Wants to Run for President in 2028 With This on Tape
There is a reason Booker never directly addressed the shift on Sunday.
He offered faith. He offered the Declaration of Independence. He offered a vague promise to fight Trump "with ferocity."
He did not offer an explanation.
That is not an accident.
Booker told Welker he is "definitely not ruling out" a 2028 presidential run.
He is running for Senate re-election in New Jersey and wants six more years.
https://twitter.com/jj_talking/status/2038635303746109773?s=20
A man building a national campaign does not want the opening clip in every opponent's opposition file to be "I love Donald Trump" — followed immediately by footage of him screaming about ICE at airports.
Welker handed that contrast to every Democratic primary voter in America on Sunday morning.
Booker's entire brand was built on being the Democrat who meant what he said.
He ran for president on love, unity, and rising above division.
That brand only works if voters believe it is consistent.
Sunday, a journalist played him his own words in real time.
He had ten years to prepare a better answer.
He did not have one.
Sources:
- Joseph A. Wulfsohn, "Cory Booker confronted with old clip of himself saying he loves Donald Trump," Fox News, March 29, 2026.
- Dmitri Bolt, "Cory Booker Is Fearmongering Over ICE at Airports. Tom Homan Isn't Having It," Townhall, March 24, 2026.
- Eugene Scott, "Cory Booker responds to Trump speech tweets," CNN, July 26, 2016.
- St. Louis Public Radio staff, "Sen. Cory Booker comes to St. Louis with new book, $7 trillion tax plan and something that sounds a lot like a campaign," KSDK, 2026.
