CNN "The Lead With Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Cory Booker

Interview

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KEILAR: We're back with our 2020 lead.

And after two nights of fiery confrontations and policy debates, Democratic presidential hopefuls now have just one month to study their performances and plan out their next attacks and convince as many voters as possible to back their White House bid before the second Democratic debate that is hosted by CNN.

And joining me now is Democratic presidential candidate and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who is seeing a surge of support after his debate performance.

We're seeing you get a bump in fund-raising. Are you thinking you're going to get a bump in the polls? [16:15:02]?

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, right now, the fundraising is key. I hope more people will go to corybooker.com and it is helping us to execute our strategy and build a great organization in the early states and continue the momentum, seven months plus, before a vote in Iowa alone is a long time here. We're going to focus on getting our message out and building our organization, and I'm hoping more people will get involved with me and my mission.

KEILAR: If you see a poll bounce, what's the takeaway? If you don't, what's the takeaway?

BOOKER: You know, again, and you know this history, people -- we have not had a nominee since well before Carter that was leading in the polls this far out that went on to the White House. Usually, it's people like Bill Clinton or Barack Obama who are underestimated, polling behind that win in places like Iowa and New Hampshire which are often ways to show that you have the ability to win elections in the grassroots.

So, the polling is important. We're polling high enough right now to be in the top six or seven, to be on those debate stages. I'm hoping we could continue to get momentum because the debate stage for September is set so much higher. We need 130,000 unique contributor and we're trying to push people toward corybooker.com.

But again, the polling numbers, I'm not being distracted, but what I'm focused on is getting my heart, my vision, my plans and my passion before voters and more people who get a chance to discover who I am, the better we're going to do.

KEILAR: I want to ask you about the former vice president. He defended his record on civil rights today, after being grilled about it during last night's debate. Let's listen to the former vice president's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I never, never, never, ever opposed voluntary busing and as a program that Senator Harris participated in and it made a difference in her life. I did support federal action to address root causes in segregation in our schools and our communities, including taking on the banks and redlining and trying to change the way in which neighborhoods were segregated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right. We should note that he said he never opposed voluntary busing last night. He said he never opposed busing, period. What's your reaction?

BOOKER: Well, first of all, the record speaks differently from the quotes from the time and I read them, again it is decades ago, problematic and he needs to talk to his record, as we all know, from the 1994 crime bill that I was a law student at the time, and as somebody who was being, frankly, often followed or singled out by police that led to the explosion of mass incarceration, something that now I'm working in the Senate have been drawing back on mandatory minimums and in that crime bill. He has to speak to his record. And the way he speaks about it is important.

You know, I've been talking about this for the last two weeks about him invoking language that white segregationists call him son and not boy, without the understanding why that word "boy" was used by white segregationist against folks like my father and others that meant to degrade and demean and make them feel less than. The next presidential nominee, whoever they are, has to be up to the challenge of addressing these power dynamics, addressing the issues of race and racism and being able, most importantly, to call our country together to common ground and common purpose, remind us that we have more in common than separates us and we need to work together on issues of justice. You've got to be up to that challenge.

That's one of the reasons I'm running because of my history and record for bringing Americans together to get things done.

KEILAR: Was he sufficient today in his explanation?

BOOKER: You know, again, I listened to some of the language that he was using that still kind of worries me that, you know, this is a lesson on some of the issues that a nominee shouldn't at this point have to learn. And, again, voters have to make their own decision that our diverse party, what kind of leader we're going to have to that's going to inspire us to be our best.

And, by the way, none of us, certainly not me, have been perfect or without mistakes. We all do it. But when you make a mistake, don't fall into a defensive crouch, don't try to shift the blame like he said to me, that I owed him an apology for his remarks. That's not what we need right now.

You know, part of being courageous is being vulnerable, is letting people know that you're not perfect, none of us are, is letting people know that you're going to risk putting yourself out there and try to be a light to bring people together and I'm hoping that we don't fall into this no apology world that Donald Trump seems to say when you do nothing wrong and make no mistakes. I think the best leaders are the ones that step up and say, hey, I don't have a perfect record, I haven't done anything right but I stayed in the saddle, continued to work and sacrifice for the greater good. I hope you'll join me in that march.

KEILAR: Senator Cory Booker, thank you so much.

BOOKER: Thank you for having me.

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