'This has got to be a moment in America,' Cory Booker tells 1st town hall since record speech

PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Cory Booker took a version of his record-breaking Senate floor speech on the road Saturday to a town hall meeting in a New Jersey gymnasium, calling on people to find out what they can do to push back on President Donald Trump's agenda.

Booker took questions at suburban New Jersey's Bergen Community College the same day as more than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned around the country. The town hall event was punctuated both by celebratory shouts of “Cory, Cory” as well as at least a half-dozen interruptions by protesters.

It was Booker's first in-person event in his home state since his speech this week, where he held the Senate floor for 25 hours and 5 minutes in opposition to Trump's policies. In doing so, he broke the record for the longest floor speech, which was set by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Questioner after questioner asked what they could be doing to show their disagreement and worry over the president's policies. Booker told them it only takes a little bit more — could they afford a trip to Washington to lobby against budget cuts? One of the loudest moments of applause came after he addressed a woman who said she worried about what potential Medicaid cuts could mean for her son with autism.

“A gathering like this can’t be the end of our activism,” Booker said. “This has got to be a moment in America where all of us begin to say, what more can I do?”

The questions and Booker's response mirror what voters and other Democrats have been hearing during town halls. He said he didn't want to focus on the Democratic Party, which has struggled to find a message since losing the 2024 election. Instead, he said, he would focus on “the people of our country.”

“I think the Democratic Party lost a lot of elections because people didn’t believe that they cared about them. So let’s stop worrying about the politics and get more focused on the people,” Booker said.

Lisa Dunn, 41, a special education teacher and social worker from Jersey City, attended the rainy Saturday event because she worried that the Trump administration's policies are beginning to impact people. She credited Booker for the Senate speech, saying at least “he's doing something.”

She said she wishes there was a specific action to take, but she understands why there isn't.

“I wish there was something very concrete. However, personally, I am listening. I’m taking in information. I’m trying to figure out where do I stand right now in terms of what I actually can do and what will make the most impact,” she said. “So part of me does understand that answer because I assume that probably politicians are in the same boat.”

After the event, Booker said he was reluctant to tell people the exact tactics to use, citing civil rights activists like the late John Lewis. He said creativity has a role to play.

“I know one thing it’s not is sitting down and doing nothing and just watching on TV and getting stuck in a state of sedentary agitation,” he said. “Everybody has to be taking measures to put the pressure on to change.”

Booker, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020, said after the event that he was focused on running for reelection to the Senate in 2026 and that 2028 “will take care of itself.”

Booker, 55, is in his second full term in the Senate. He chairs the Strategic Communications Committee, his party's messaging arm. His team is focused on boosting Senate Democrats’ presence across social platforms through more frequent and casual content.

Booker himself has amassed one of the largest followings on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X, where his commentary appears to connect with the party's base. But staffers are now focused on how to transfer that success to Booker’s fellow senators, who are often less digitally fluent and face different political landscapes in their home states.

That has involved turning the communications committee into a nerve center for testing and coordinating the easiest-to-use formats for lawmakers looking to boost their digital brands.

Booker hopes to double the engagement senators receive with their content directly online and increase the caucus’ appearances with online digital media personalities.

The start of Saturday's event included six disruptions, including by several people who decried the treatment of Palestinians. Police in the gymnasium escorted them from the arena.

“I hear you and I see you,” Booker said.

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Associated Press reporter Matt Brown in Washington contributed.