Democratic Presidential Candidate Cory Booker Rules Out Potential Meeting With Louis Farrakhan
US Senator Cory Booker is seen during a visit to a migrant assistance center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, July 3, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Jose Luis Gonzalez.
Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker said on Sunday that he would not be willing to meet with antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, clarifying his position on the issue.
When previously asked about potentially meeting with Farrakhan, the New Jersey senator replied, “I don’t feel like I need to do that, but I’m not one of those people who says that I wouldn’t sit down with anybody to hear what they have to say.”
However, in a CNN interview on Sunday, Booker was asked about that statement and said, “First of all, that was completely taken out of context of that larger conversation.”
“I will not sit down with Louis Farrakhan, period,” he emphasized. “And I reject anybody who preaches that kind of bigotry and hate towards other Americans.”