Cracks amongst top Democratic leaders are starting to become huge fractures after viral video footage from the Senate floor on Tuesday showcased multiple party leaders engaging in a nasty verbal spat.
Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker accused his fellow party members of betraying their party and condoning authoritarianism, which led to a testy back-and-forth caught on camera.
Booker, who recently delivered a record-long speech on the Senate floor, delivered yesterday’s blistering speech to object to a slate of bipartisan police funding bills offered by Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Catherine Cortez-Masto and Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, which passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously.
Booker took exception to his fellow Democrats for not doing enough to fight President Donald Trump and said their bipartisan legislation was essentially bending the knee to the Trump administration’s policy agenda.
“What I am tired of is when the President of the United States of America violates the Constitution, crashes our norms and traditions, and what does the Democratic Party do?” Booker said on the Senate floor.
“Comply? Allow him? Beg for justice?”
“No, I demand justice,” Booker continued. “The Democratic Party needs to wake up.”
Take a listen —
Cory Booker is having a complete MELTDOWN right now. pic.twitter.com/jARQ85nCXk
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2025
Booker’s unhinged meltdown comes after Klobacher and other Democrats accused Booker of not being present for hearings where he could give his input on the bipartisan bills — instead sabotaging the Senate floor with his speech.
During the spat, Klobuchar notably hit back at Booker, accusing the Judiciary Committee member of failing to show up to the hearing devoted to approving the legislation to provide input.
“One of the things I don’t understand here is that we have committees for a reason, and we have hearing for a reason, and you can’t do one thing on Police Week and not show up and not object and let these bills go through and then say another [thing] a few weeks later in the big speech on the floor.”
“These and the other police bills passed during Police Week — police officers are sitting there in the hearing room when no one objected,” Klobuchar said. “I can’t help it if someone couldn’t change their schedule to be there.”
Booker expressed outrage with Klobuchar’s comments suggesting that the New Jersey Democrat failed to show up to the hearing to offer his perspective.
“Don’t question my integrity. Don’t question my motives,” Booker responded. “Dear God if you want to come at me that way, you’re going to have to take it up with me because there’s too much on the line in America.”
“When are we going to stand together if we don’t stand as Democrats,” Booker continued. “We deserve to lose.”
The now viral verbal spat came after months of polling showing that Americans’ approval of the Democratic Party is at its lowest point in decades.
A Wall Street Journal survey found that 63% of voters have an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party — the highest percentage in 35 years.