WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called President Donald Trump’s agreement to end the war with Iran “an abject surrender” and “a cataclysmic failure.”
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Booker said he opposed the deal ending a conflict that had sent gasoline prices skyrocketing and was opposed by majorities of Americans, with almost two-thirds in a recent AP-Ipsos survey, 65%, disapproving the way Trump handled Iran.
The agreement leaves Iran in a position to continue threatening shipping through the Gulf of Hormuz, keeps its current leadership in place, and imposes no restrictions on Iran’s nuclear development.
“This has been a cataclysmic failure of his making,” Booker said. “Let’s be clear. I do not support this deal that he made, which was an abject surrender.”
The deal has been panned by all sides.
“When you have Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressives, all coming out talking about capitulation, surrender, catastrophe, you know how bad this deal is,” Booker said on NBC. “This is a guy who said he’s a great negotiator. But right now, Iran has billions and billions of dollars of benefits. It’s almost as if American dollars, American resources are now going to be used to help rebuild Iran while we are continuing to carry the bill for it.”
Applauding Trump for ending the war is “like literally an arsonist starting a fire and getting credit for running out of the burning building,” Booker said.
“This president has led this nation into a disaster. We have surrendered our power. We have capitulated to the enemy. And they now are mocking us. Look at everything that’s coming out of that country from their internal dialogue all the way to what they’re saying publicly. They know that they’ve won this. And they know Donald Trump is perhaps, on the world stage right now, the biggest loser with egg on his face.”
Booker said he planned to campaign around the country to help Democrats regain control of Congress, even as he faces his own race for re-election.
“This midterm election is not about left or right. It’s about right or wrong. It’s about stopping a president that’s out of control and hurting Americans,” Booker said.
“I’m going to be doing everything I can all over my state of New Jersey and everywhere I can to help candidates across this country to get to that end, which is Democrats regaining control of the House and the Senate so we check and balance a president that’s chaotic, cruel, and corrupt.”
He specifically mentioned traveling to Ohio to help Sherrod Brown and Texas to help James Talarico in their U.S. Senate races but said he had no current plans to go to Maine on behalf of Senate nominee Graham Platner, facing criticism for having a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, which he covered up, and facing allegations of abusive behavior leveled by former girlfriends.
“This is what campaigns are for,” Booker said. “He certainly has a lot of issues and a lot of questions to answer and address. And I think the people in Maine are going to give a lot of examination to this in this election. For me I certainly hope we pick up a seat here. For me and people of the state of New Jersey, dear God, we need to get the Senate back so we can start checking this out-of-control president.”