Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker defended his stance on gun control, referring to thoughts and prayers as “just bulls**t” on David Axelrod’s show, “The Axe Files.”
“CNN Newsroom” anchor Poppy Harlow shared a clip of Booker’s statements, discussing them with Axelrod on Friday.
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“So when I’m president of the United States, I’m taking a fight to this issue like folks have never seen before because we’re better than this as a country,” Booker told Axelrod. “It’s a uniquely American problem. No other country has this kind of carnage.”
Booker then argued that more Americans had died due to gun violence in his lifetime than had died in all wars since the Revolutionary War combined.
“We’re not going to give thoughts and prayers, which to me is just bulls**t,” he added. “I’m sorry to say that as a man of faith, but I was taught faith without works is dead. We’re going to bring a fight with everything that I have to solve this problem. And because it’s solvable, and we know it.”
Axelrod responded to the clip, pointing out the fact that gun violence is a very personal issue for Booker, one that literally hits close to his home city of Newark, NJ, where he had previously served as mayor.
“We should point out that Cory Booker lives in the inner city of Newark,” Axelrod noted. “Just a few days earlier, someone he knew had been killed nearby. He spoke about young people who he had mentored who were killed by gun violence.”
Booker is not the only 2020 Democratic hopeful proposing strict gun control measures. California Sen. Kamala Harris has said that she would give Congress 100 days to enact new gun legislation before taking executive action. California Rep. Eric Swalwell is running on a platform of buybacks and, if necessary, confiscation. (RELATED: Democratic Presidential Candidate Wants To Take Your Guns And Throw You In Jail If You Resist)
The New Jersey Senator’s comprehensive plan for gun control includes federal government interviews for prospective gun owners.