Cory Booker Responds To 'Meet The Press' Critics On Twitter

Newark mayor Cory Booker sent out a series of impassioned tweets Thursday evening in response to continuing fallout from his appearance on "Meet The Press" last Sunday, in which he expressed discomfort with the Obama campaign's strategy of attacking Mitt Romney over his career in private equity. "Sorry I make u sick," one tweet read. "And sorry I made a mistake. I'm sorry that 15 seconds on MTP erodes my 20 yrs of work in inner cities around our nation."

Sorry I make u sick. And sorry I made a mistake. I'm sorry that 15 seconds on MTP erodes my 20 yrs of work in inner cities around our nation

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 24, 2012

A second tweet struck a more reflective tone:

In the end we are all imperfect. Best we can do is learn from our mistakes, not let them stop u but make u stronger. As u continue to

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 24, 2012

Finally, Booker addressed the chasm between his opinions and the presidential campaign for which he is seen as a surrogate:

Honesty still needs to be expressed with care. RT @captkirc: Sad when being honest to the public is a considered to be a mistake.

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 24, 2012

Booker told "Meet the Press" host David Gregory that he found President Obama's ads attacking Bain Capital, Romney's former company, "nauseating." Hours after the appearance, Booker backtracked, but Republicans quickly made him a campaign talking point. Many Democrats and left-leaning commentators also expressed outrage with Booker for breaking with the president.

Below, Obama surrogates to keep an eye on this election cycle.

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• Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

• Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick

• Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer

• Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell

• Newark Mayor Cory Booker

• N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo

• Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

• L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

• Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.)

• Former President Bill Clinton

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[relentless63]

11:51 AM on 05/26/2012

Cory Booker used his appearance on MTP to defend the 1% that supports him, when he could have focussed on the problems of a New Jersey struggling under the weight of 14% unemployment.

[trweste144]

09:08 PM on 05/25/2012

I really don't put a lot of value on Booker's gaffe. What concerns me is one of the people running for President believes in the gaffes he mouths without end; and no, before you begin conservatives, it's not the President, its the Mormon Governor who wants people to forget how he governed.

[mcmutter]

03:54 PM on 05/25/2012

$565,000 from Bain ...

shame .. shame ... shame on you ...

[plooger]

05:20 PM on 05/25/2012

Ouch. If true, it makes Bain Capital even MORE relevant to this election, since it's not just about their "vulture capitalism," anymore; now they need to be hit on the Citizens United front, with Booker's defense as an example of what all those political donations buy. (i.e. they're not really donations, at this point, they're payments, for expectations of services to be rendered)

[mcmutter]

10:25 PM on 05/25/2012

Washington Post covered this story this past week .... yup, its true ......

[Cottoneyedjoe]

02:57 AM on 05/26/2012

You know nothing about Bain Capital http://articles.boston.com/2012-05-23/nation/31814221_1_obama-campaign-mitt-romney-romney-claims shows the liberal hypocrisy

President Obama has accepted $92,270 in his last two campaigns from employees of Bain Capital, the private equity firm formerly led by Mitt Romney, which he has villainized for profiting on failed companies that laid off workers.

If you have such a problem with Bain Why dont you just demand the president return all campaign contributions to private equity firms ?

[Heroldness]

01:40 PM on 05/25/2012

Is it just me? At a time when it appears (if you believe the polls) that 50% of American voters are ready and willing to vote for Republican/TP canidates that will gladly put these voters faces to the wall, load their guns and aim for everything they need to survive and Democratic senators and congressmen either deciding to walk when their terms are up, do we really need Democrats turning their backs on each other? There are an awful lot of good people who come to Huffington and state everyday that Obama will win and we will put an end to this craziness in the congress. How--how is that going to happen when Democrats can't even keep it together long enough to think through what they are about to say and question the wisdom of it. If Democrats can't support each other, how will they support the American people who need them to fight for the things we need most. jobs, education...................

[Cottoneyedjoe]

01:37 PM on 05/25/2012

Obama gets his campaign Funds From Private Equity. so he has to tell them " My Base Hates you so much I have to lie cause My Base is so stupid that they will believe I am against private equity, that I will get reelected.. then its back to business as usual."

[Cottoneyedjoe]

01:19 PM on 05/25/2012

the difference between Obama and Jerimiah wright, is Jerimiah's job requires him to Be honest

[mcmutter]

03:55 PM on 05/25/2012

ur an @$$wipe

[Cottoneyedjoe]

02:49 AM on 05/26/2012

yeah You cant handle the Facts I can understand that is why you resort to name calling

[Cottoneyedjoe]

01:16 PM on 05/25/2012

Corey is right the 1st time. If Obama is attacking Capitalism and promoting socialism then he is a strong supporter of Bailouts.

It is capitalism that is actually Funding the government.. not the other way around the government would not be what it is our national defense would not be what it is with our Capitalism

Capitalism feeds more people than all the governments in the world put together

[WellbornBroad]

01:16 PM on 05/25/2012

Cory, your 15 minutes are up. Nobody likes a saboteur or a shmuck.

[Kaptain Kool]

09:15 PM on 05/25/2012

"Nobody likes a saboteur or a shmuck."

LOL! One of the best turns of phrase I've seen in a long time.

[McAttorney]

01:13 PM on 05/25/2012

Does 15 minutes of candid comments on national television reverse a lifetime of carefuly cultivating a benign public image while dancing on command as the House N-word for the investment bankers?

'Fraid so.......

[Bronxdude]

01:10 PM on 05/25/2012

Corey, always practice situational-awareness...

[AnotherAngle]

01:06 PM on 05/25/2012

Once upon a time, in a country called America, it's citizens aspired to become self-reliant so they worked hard to become successful and wealthy.

Then one day a president was elected that caused dissension amongst the rich and all other sectors of society so that they rebelled one class against the other, protesting in the streets with signs demanding that the plentiful earnings of the wealthy be shared with those who did not have the same ambition for personal success.

The End.

[It Must Get Better]

01:00 PM on 05/25/2012

So much for being a 2016 candidate....

[AnotherAngle]

01:25 PM on 05/25/2012

Yeah. God forbid we actually get a president that thinks on his OWN regardless of what political party he is married to.

[It Must Get Better]

12:59 PM on 05/25/2012

All in the choice of words. By saying 'nauseating' he expressed an extreme few and appeared tonot be supportive of Obama. Had he said something like 'maybe not the best plan of attack to go after Bain record' there would not be the fallout. But Cory, you are a politician, 20 years you note, words have ramifications, so deal with it.

[forkuu]

12:56 PM on 05/25/2012

i like mr booker a lot more than i like obama . he has shown that he cares for his voters in many ways including living in a housing project for years after he was elected.
i think he had a right to say what he felt . its sad that now he is forced into damage control by his own party. if mr booker ever runs i am voting for him...

[Twizzler]

12:56 PM on 05/25/2012

What lame tweets. He should have just tweeted 5 times: "I stand by my statement that I misspoke and I apologize." That would have been funny, and he could move on.