Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker on Wednesday tore into his fellow White House hopefuls for the way they are talking about making amends to black Americans for more than two centuries of slavery.
“Can I tell you why I’m frustrated and disappointed by this reparations conversation? It’s because it’s being reduced to just a box to check on a presidential list when this is so much more of a serious conversation,” the New Jersey Democrat, 49, said during a CNN town hall in South Carolina, an early-voting state with a prominent minority community.
“Do I support legislation that is race conscious about balancing the economic scales?” he said. “Not only do I support it, but I have legislation that actually does it. In fact, I’ve got the only legislation, I think, in the entire Congress that Columbia University says would virtually eliminate the racial wealth gap in our country. It’s something called baby bonds.”
Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro have all broached the topic of reparations for descendants of slaves on the campaign trail, but have approached the issue from various perspectives, often using different definitions.
Booker’s so-called baby bond proposal would provide means-tested “opportunity accounts” to every child born in the U.S., with the money invested growing into a sizable nest egg by the time they turned 18.
On the topic of criminal justice reform, Booker said he would “absolutely” consider mass commutations and pardons for federal marijuana offenses if he were elected president. The second-term senator also criticized former President Bill Clinton’s 1994 crime bill, describing it as “horrible.”
During a lighter moment of the televised event, Booker, who has never been married, was asked whether there could potentially be a wedding in the White House if he became commander in chief. The former mayor of Newark recently confirmed he is dating actress Rosario Dawson.
“Let’s not get ahead of us,” Booker said to laughs from the audience, adding the pair met during a fundraiser for Democrat Ben Jealous ahead of his unsuccessful 2018 bid to become Maryland’s governor. “Right now, she is an incredible girlfriend. I’m very lucky to be in a relationship with someone who is just so incredibly special, but more importantly has taught me so much in a very short period.”
