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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told NBC News on Sunday that he wouldn’t accept money from Elon Musk for his re-election campaign, but urged the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) official to “sound the alarm” on the “big, beautiful bill” endorsed by President Donald Trump.
“Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked Booker on Sunday if he would accept money from Musk after the billionaire and the president traded barbs.
“I will partner with anyone like I did in the last Congress, putting my vote alongside of John McCain’s, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins to stop the tearing down of the Affordable Care Act. This is not about right or left. It’s about right or wrong. And this bill is disastrous for the average American, driving up this cost. This bill is disastrous for our long-term economy. This is an American issue, and I welcome Elon Musk, not to my campaign, I welcome him right now, not to sit back and fire off tweets, to get involved right now in a more substantive way, in putting pressure on Congresspeople and senators to not do this,” Booker said.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during the news conference on Rep. LaMonica McIver outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. ( (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))
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Welker asked Booker again if he would accept money from Musk.
“I would not accept money from Elon Musk for my campaign, but I would be supportive of anybody, including Elon Musk, putting resources forward right now to let more Americans know, sound the alarm, treat this like a Paul Revere moment. More Americans have to understand that if this bill passes, average Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket, as this president, again, pushes legislation that is indicative of his chaos, corruption and cruelty towards Americans,” Booker said.
Musk criticized the Trump-backed bill as a “disgusting abomination.”
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk said in a post on X. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., May 30, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo)
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Welker also pressed Booker on the state of the Democratic Party, asking the liberal senator about former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s decision to register as an Independent, which she announced along with a new book about her time in the White House.
“Do you think Democrats have to distance themselves from the party brand in order to win?” Welker asked, noting some of New Jersey’s gubernatorial candidates have also been critical of the party, ahead of the primary election on Tuesday.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks at a rally in support of USAid on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on February 05, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) )
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“I think the Democrats right now all across America should be less concerned about the Democratic Party and more concerned with the American people. There’s a trust problem for Republicans and Democrats. Most Americans voted against both of the presidential candidates in the last election. We need to start standing up and show we’re fighting for Americans right now,” Booker responded.
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Booker also said he was going to endorse whoever wins the Democratic gubernatorial primary in New Jersey.
