Cory Booker Explains His Side-Eye at Beto O’Rourke Speaking Spanish During Debate
He told Anderson Cooper that at that moment he knew he was “going to have to bring it as well.”
Mike Segar/Reuters
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) explained his reaction to former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) speaking Spanish during the first moments of night one of the 2020 Democratic Debates. Asked by Anderson Cooper about his “side eye” in the photo, Booker said, “I just knew he had laid a gauntlet down, both [Julian Castro] and I knew, as people who can speak Spanish, that now we were going to have to bring it as well,” Booker said. In another interview with Chris Matthews, Booker said that he is “nowhere near fluent” in Spanish.
Chris Matthews asks Cory Booker about "the look."
— Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) June 27, 2019
"He threw down the gauntlet, & I had to respond," Booker says. "....I was listening to him & I was like, OK, fine, it's good that he's showing that. ...I'm nowhere near fluent, but I'm conversational. We need to do more of that" pic.twitter.com/mQvVQ2c8M1
"I can't really remember... I just knew he had laid a gauntlet down," said a chuckling Cory Booker in response to a viral photo in which he appeared to be giving a "side eye" to rival Beto O'Rourke who was speaking in Spanish. #DemDebate https://t.co/wpHLm2ll5S pic.twitter.com/8tlNIW0uSh
— CNN (@CNN) June 27, 2019
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.