Cory Booker complimented an attendee’s similar hairstyle at CNN’s candidate town hall on gay rights and told him that he is “a beautiful man.”
The event, which lasted four hours and included a number of Democratic candidates, featured members of the audience asking the contenders questions about gay and transgender issues. During Booker’s segment, one questioner had a bald head, prompting Booker to joke about his appearance.
“That is one of the most handsome haircuts,” Booker told the man from the stage. “Were you about to say the same thing?”
“I was, I was gonna say, ‘Nice haircut,’” the man said laughing.
“You are a beautiful man,” Booker responded.
The attendee began to ask his question, but Booker cut him off and quipped, “Make our president bald again,” to more laughter from the audience.
The town hall had a number of memorable moments from other candidates. Beto O’Rourke said he supported revoking the tax-exempt status of religious institutions that don’t support gay marriage such as churches, colleges, and charities.
At one point during O’Rourke’s segment, a black transgender protester took over the microphone and slammed the network for silencing transgender people.
One of the CNN moderators, Chris Cuomo, faced backlash and apologized after he joked about adopting female pronouns during Kamala Harris’ time on the stage.