NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called on Americans 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 book tour is part of Booker’s release for Stand, a book that evaluates the current state of the government and delves into the virtues he believes Americans 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 Americans 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, Booker surpassed the longest Senate speech that was held by the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), 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 Americans, while also fueling speculation over a possible 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 ahead of launching a presidential campaign as a way to introduce themselves more to the American public.
Former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden released books ahead of their respective successful presidential bids in 2006 and 2017.
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’s “definitely not ruling out” a possible presidential bid in 2028, adding to a number of ambiguous statements he’s made on the topic.
At the end of the event, Booker sidestepped a question about if 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.
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Throughout the hour-long event there were five pro-Palestine protests that broke out.
King attempted to bring the conversation back to the respective 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.”
Booker kicked off 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 -strong hold cities that Harris went to for her book tours as well.
His last two scheduled book tour stops are in California this weekend.