New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker accused Democrats, corporate America, law firms and the media of being “complicit” with President Donald Trump.
Booker made the comments Tuesday, July 29 on the Senate floor during a debate on efforts by the Justice Department to withhold federal grant money from law enforcement agencies in blue states unless they comply with Trump’s policies.
“No, no, not on my watch!” he shouted, adding that New York and New Jersey are just as deserving of grant money as Alabama.
Booker said Trump is ignoring the will of Congress and “eviscerating the constitution of the United States of America.”
“This is a call, folks, the Democratic Party needs a wake-up call. I see law firms bending the knee to this president, not caring about the larger principles,” Booker stated. “I see businesses taking late-night talk show hosts off the air because they dared to insult a president. I see people who want mergers suddenly think that they have to pay tribute to this president.”
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Although he didn’t name the company directly, Booker was calling out Paramount Global, parent company of CBS, for its recent $16 million lawsuit settlement with Trump and the sudden cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which the senator described as part of a broader pattern of capitulation.
Colbert announced the cancellation of his show on the July 17 episode, just days after he called the settlement over an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris a “big fat bribe,” as previously reported.
Paramount said the decision was “financial” and unrelated to the show’s performance, content or other matters.
The announcement came despite The Late Show being the No. 1 late-night program, averaging 2.4 million viewers, well ahead of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.77 million) and NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (1.19 million), according to LateNighter.com.
It also came as Paramount looked to the FCC to approve its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The merger was approved last week, according to the Associated Press.
Just before the FCC greenlit the merger, Paramount agreed to hire a watchdog at CBS News to investigate complaints of political bias.
Booker argued the combination of settlements, corporate deals, and the silencing of outspoken voices like Colbert’s should concern Democrats and the public.
Watch the video below. Booker mentions the media at the 36:50 mark:
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