Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) appeared on Meet the Press Sunday morning where he called the illegal immigration riots in Los Angeles “peaceful protests” and smeared Trump supporters as “cop killers” over police deaths that occurred after the January 6 Capitol riot.
The only person confirmed to have been killed as a direct result of violence on January 6, 2021, was unarmed Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt who was shot and killed by Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd inside the Capitol.
Booker was interviewed by host Kristen Welker (transcript excerpt):
KRISTEN WELKER: Welcome back. Joining me now is Democratic senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker. Senator Booker, welcome back to Meet The Press.
SEN. CORY BOOKER: Thanks so much. Good morning to you.
KRISTEN WELKER: Good morning to you. Thank you for being here. I do have to start with President Trump saying he plans to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles to deal with the protesters there.
The president bypassing the governor and federalizing the Guard himself. He says he did so because Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass refused to act against the unrest. What is your response to President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard?
Look, since years before I was born, law enforcement knows it’s good when there’s cooperation and coordination. For the president to do this when it wasn’t requested, breaking with generations of tradition, is only going to incite the situation and make things worse.
We are now at a point where we have a president who sat back and did nothing as people stormed our Capitol, viciously beat police. And then when those people who viciously beat police and led to some of their deaths, therefore, cop killers, were convicted by juries, he then pardoned them all. So for him to be talking to anybody right now about responsive law enforcement to protect people is hypocritical at best.
SEN. CORY BOOKER: The reality is we see peaceful protests launching in Los Angeles. And again, any violence against police officers should not be accepted. Local authorities can handle that. But remember, a lot of these peaceful protests are being generated because the president of the United States is sowing chaos and confusion by arresting people who are showing up for their immigration hearings, who are trying to abide by the law.
He’s arresting them. You see this in communities that are Republican, Trump supporters being outraged that he’s raiding kitchens and arresting people, high schools and arresting people, who are not what he said he would do, which is focus law enforcement resources on violent criminals and people that are a danger to other Americans.
WATCH:
Senator @CoryBooker thinks the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles — in which criminal illegals and violent mobs are hurling concrete projectiles at vehicles, lighting fires, and attacking federal law enforcement — are "peaceful." pic.twitter.com/zdshuTeJdP
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 8, 2025
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