Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker made history by speaking for 25 hours straight inside the United States Capitol in protest of the Donald Trump administration, delivering the longest speech ever recorded on the senate floor. And in a new interview, the politician revealed which music gets him pumped up to take such big leaps in his work, from songs by Beyoncé to show tunes sung by Cynthia Erivo.
While reflecting on his historic feat in a Rolling Stone profile published Wednesday (May 7), Booker shared that music is one thing he enjoys outside of his work as a New Jersey senator. “I wake up and listen to podcasts that give me the news of the day, and then by the time I’m working out, it’s whatever music can get me most pumped up,” he told the publication before pulling up his Spotify Wrapped from last year. “My top 2024 songs: On top is Beyoncé, ‘Texas Hold ’Em,’ which I think I played way too much.”
“Bruce Springsteen,” he continued. “Stevie Wonder. Lots of gospel music. Oh, Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ made it into the top 20. ‘The Color Purple,’ Cynthia Erivo’s song, I played a lot last year.”
Speaking of Erivo, Booker noted that he hasn’t had the time to catch a movie in theaters since seeing Wicked, which premiered in November last year. It’s understandable why he might’ve been busy; the Democratic party has been fighting against the initiatives of the Republican majority-led Congress ever since January, when Trump was re-elected as president and his party took control of the senate after flipping four seats in the election.
In one of the splashiest means of protest since the billionaire businessman took office, the former mayor of Newark spoke for 25 hours and five minutes on March 31 into April 1, using his lengthy stretch of time on the senate floor to criticize Trump’s policies and delay Republican’s overall productivity in the senate.
Though he did beat out Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour spiel protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for the new longest senate-speech record, Booker’s address wasn’t technically a filibuster, as he wasn’t delaying the passing of a specific piece of legislation. Of the decision not to do a proper filibuster, he told Rolling Stone, “In the modern Senate, it’s very hard to even get control of the floor.”
“I said to my team, ‘How did Ted Cruz get control of the floor? How did Rand Paul? Figure out how they got control,’” he continued. “The person in the cloakroom told me, very annoyingly, ‘We let [Rand Paul take the floor], because he promised it was only going to be a couple minutes — and he lied through his teeth’ … I’m not going to lie, so let’s just let them know that I’m going to take control of the floor and hold it for as long as I possibly can.”
As for whether he wants to run for president in 2028, Booker was frank. “It would be the biggest malpractice of my life if I didn’t tell you I am running for reelection two years before that election,” he told the publication. “I want to be reelected as a New Jersey senator, and my focus is to let my state know I am 100 percent focused.”
