Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker’s remarks on “Meet the Press” Sunday continue to live on another day, after he appeared on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” on Monday attempting to once again clarify what he said.
On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday, host Joe Scarborough said that Booker’s public appearances indicate that the Newark mayor is “fighting for his political life.”
“He’s an up-and-comer,” Scarborough said. “He really was, he really was — no, I’m telling you seriously. He’s fighting, I promise you, over the next 48-to-72 hours the guy is fighting for his political life. You don’t want this, this view of yourself setting in stone in the middle of a presidential campaign because it’s not only the rank and file that will be angry with him, it’s the people that give money that write checks and they’re thinking, OK. He goes on ‘Meet the Press,’ one of the most important political shows. He’s on as an Obama surrogate and he actually undercuts the central premise of the Obama campaign’s argument for re-election, for beating Mitt Romney, why he’s not fit as a president. This — I’m serious. This is a, politically an existential crisis for Cory Booker.”
Former Obama “car czar” and “Morning Joe” regular Steve Rattner said he believed Booker’s now-controversial remarks weren’t intended as a defense of Romney’s role in private equity, but rather a differentiation between being successful with private equity and creating jobs. Scarborough disagreed.
“I don’t think that’s what he said,” he replied. “He said he was disgusted with people attacking private equity… he compared, though — David Gregory asked a question and he lumped it in with Jeremiah Wright attacks. He can’t back off of that. The attacks against private equity were disgusting just like Republicans using Jeremiah Wright.”