Cory Booker says ‘we have capitulated to the enemy’ with Trump’s Iran deal: Full interview

[0:00] And joining me now is Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. [0:04] Senator Booker, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:07] It's good to see you here on national TV and not the halls of the Senate. [0:10] I think we can agree on that. [0:13] Let's start with Iran. [0:14] You voted eight times to end this war. [0:16] The Memorandum of Understanding ends the war. [0:19] Do you support it? [0:20] Yeah, I'm proud to be leading the effort to stop Donald Trump [0:25] from leading our country into further and further disaster. [0:29] But the way he is trying to bring us out of this war [0:31] not only speaks to the failures of the war in total, [0:34] but it also speaks in a bipartisan way to how bad of a leader he is. [0:39] When you have Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and progressives, [0:43] all coming out talking about capitulation, surrender, catastrophe, [0:49] you know how bad this deal is. [0:50] Iran gets all of the benefits, literally billions and billions of dollars. [0:55] And America continues to hurt and see the losses [0:58] from the $100 billion we spent in the war [1:01] to every American citizen seeing their costs skyrocket. [1:04] This has been a cataclysmic failure of his making. [1:08] But if you support the deal, but you also think it's a capitulation, [1:11] I guess I'm confused. [1:12] What's the alternative here? [1:13] No, no, no, no. [1:14] Let's be clear. [1:15] I do not support this deal that he made, which was an abject surrender. [1:20] This is a guy who said he's a great negotiator. [1:22] But right now, Iran has billions and billions of dollars of benefits. [1:26] It's almost as if American dollars, American resources are now going to be used [1:30] to help rebuild Iran while we are continuing to carry the bill for it. [1:34] So what is the alternative then to ending the war? [1:38] Well, the alternative is not having a president that led us into this war, [1:42] that surrendered all of our leverage, that is giving Iran everything they want and achieving [1:47] none of the specific goals that he said he wanted. [1:50] We have a disaster for a commander-in-chief who's leaving us with less and less good choices. [1:56] What the world needs now is leadership. [1:58] But from our Middle East allies to our NATO allies, I'm hearing over and over again, [2:04] your president is a danger to the world. [2:06] And obviously, we at home are paying the cost of that. [2:10] There has been some Democratic reaction to the president's decision that was a little [2:13] bit more positive. [2:14] Democratic strategist James Carville said this this week. [2:17] Listen. [2:19] We started a war and we surrendered. [2:20] Let's be very clear about that. [2:22] And let's give Trump credit where credit's due. [2:24] He did what Lyndon Johnson did not do in Vietnam. [2:28] Just get out. [2:29] I think the best thing Biden ever did was just leave Afghanistan. [2:33] Well, I'll give Trump credit. [2:35] He saw this thing was going the wrong way and he just quit and got out. [2:39] And sometimes you got to do that. [2:42] So there's a lot to chew on there. [2:43] But does President Trump deserve any credit for trying to end this war now rather than escalate [2:49] it further? [2:49] That's like giving somebody credit for literally an arsonist starting a fire and getting credit [2:59] for running out of the burning building. [3:00] This president has led this nation into a disaster. [3:05] We have surrendered our power. [3:07] We have capitulated to the enemy. [3:09] And they now are mocking us. [3:12] Look at everything that's coming out of that country from their internal dialogue all the [3:16] way to what they're saying publicly. [3:17] They know that they've won this. [3:19] And they know Donald Trump is perhaps on the world stage right now the biggest loser with [3:24] egg on his face. [3:25] We need to curtail this chaotic, corrupt, and cruel president. [3:30] We need to have checks and balances on his power. [3:32] I'm really sorry that congressional Republicans from the start of this war has allowed him [3:37] to do everything he wanted to do. [3:39] And now they're crying foul because they don't like the results. [3:42] Shame on Congress. [3:43] It's time we get a Congress that will stand up to this president. [3:47] We've certainly heard a lot more pushback from your Senate Republican colleagues to this [3:51] deal than I think we're used to hearing to actions the president takes. [3:54] Do you think this could be a turning point in his relationship with his own party? [4:00] God, I hope so. [4:01] Again, this is not left or right for me. [4:03] It's about stopping a president who has taken health care away from millions of Americans, [4:07] who's jacked up our prices, who's caused considerable pain letting billionaires continue [4:12] to be more bigger and polluting and bigger and getting all of the tax breaks while we [4:17] as Americans as a whole are paying more and more and more. [4:20] We need an America that stands up to this president. [4:24] And I don't care if it's a Republican or a Democrat. [4:27] Congress needs to start being strong. [4:29] Now, I don't expect that from the kind of leaders in the Republican Party in Congress. [4:33] That's why this midterm election is so vital. [4:36] This midterm election is not about left or right. [4:38] It's about right or wrong. [4:39] It's about stopping a president that's out of control and hurting Americans. [4:44] I want to talk about the midterms more in a second, but I have one more question for [4:46] you about this peace deal. [4:48] NBC News is reporting that U.S. intelligence officials are warning that Israel could take steps to undermine [4:54] the emerging Iran agreement. [4:56] Israel was a U.S. partner in the conflict. [4:59] Do you see them as a reliable partner in the peace negotiations? [5:04] Look, look, between Israel and America, we have two criminal presidents, ours who's been [5:08] indicted over, excuse me, convicted over 30 times for criminal convictions, and theirs who's [5:13] embroiled in his own corruption, his own trials. [5:16] These are two failed world leaders. [5:18] And yes, we should be very worried about both of these leaders continuing to upend any kind [5:25] of viable pathway to peace in the Middle East. [5:27] These are both failed leaders that I cannot wait until they're off the world stage. [5:31] All right. [5:32] Let's talk a little bit about the Democratic Party. [5:33] I know you and most Democrats would prefer to move on entirely from the 2024 election, [5:38] but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has reopened the debate about what went wrong, [5:43] weighing in on former President Joe Biden's decision to run for re-election. [5:47] Listen. [5:48] He made a terrible mistake. [5:49] He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country. [5:53] I believe if he had kept to that plan and said in, say, the late summer of 23 that he wasn't going to run, [6:04] that he was going to pass, you know, the torch to the next generation, we would have had a real contest. [6:10] And very sadly, I believe whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was the vice president [6:17] or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump. [6:23] Do you agree with that assessment, Senator? [6:24] Look, this is what I believe in, and this is what my unyielding focus will be until November, [6:34] because we have five months left. [6:36] This week alone, I'm going to be in Texas for Tallarico. [6:38] I'm going to be in Ohio for Sherrod Brown. [6:41] My urgency and my focus is not looking at the past. [6:44] It's doing everything I can in the present to secure a better future for America, [6:49] and that's getting as many new leaders elected as possible so we can take back the House and the Senate. [6:54] One of those opportunities to elect a new leader is in Maine. [6:58] We have a competitive contest. [7:00] Democrats just nominated Graham Plattner. [7:02] Despite past offensive comments about a tattoo associated, or past offensive comments, [7:06] he's got this tattoo that's associated with a Nazi symbol. [7:09] He also said he didn't understand its meaning. [7:11] He's covered it up. [7:12] And he's also faced allegations from former girlfriends of abusive behavior, which he denies. [7:18] Do you think Graham Plattner has the character to serve in the United States Senate? [7:21] Well, this is what campaigns are for. [7:25] He certainly has a lot of issues and a lot of questions to answer and address. [7:30] And I think the people in Maine are going to give a lot of examination to this going through in this election. [7:36] For me, I certainly hope we pick up a seat here. [7:39] For me and people in the state of New Jersey, dear God, we need to get the Senate back [7:43] so we can start checking this out-of-control president. [7:45] And that's why, again, I'm going to be doing everything I can all over my state of New Jersey [7:50] and everywhere I can to help candidates across this country to get to that end, [7:54] which is Democrats regaining control of the House and the Senate [7:57] so we can check and balance a president that's chaotic, cruel, and corrupt. [8:02] Well, you mentioned Texas and Ohio. [8:03] Will you campaign in Maine? [8:07] I don't have any plans to campaign there now. [8:10] All right, fair enough. [8:11] I want to ask you about one of the issues that will surely come up in this midterm [8:14] and probably come up again in 2028, and that's the Supreme Court. [8:18] After the court's recent ruling limiting the Voting Rights Act, [8:21] some Democrats, including former Vice President Harris, [8:24] have issued calls to expand the court's nine-seat bench. [8:28] Listen. [8:29] I absolutely believe that we should be exploiting that. [8:32] And the idea of 13, I agree, because there are 13 circuit courts, 13 justices. [8:38] You're on the Judiciary Committee. [8:40] Do you support the idea of expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices? [8:46] So here's what I believe. [8:47] We in America now have normalized a level of corruption in all three branches of our government [8:53] that cannot stand. [8:55] It is a cancer that is corroding our body politic. [8:59] All three branches of government need massive reforms. [9:02] The Supreme Court, if municipal court people in New Jersey did what Supreme Court members [9:08] are doing now, they would be let out in handcuffs. [9:11] So my plan is very simple, two things. [9:13] One is stop Supreme Court members from accepting unlimited gifts from billionaires who have [9:20] interest in matters before the court. [9:22] And number two, put term limits on Supreme Court members to 18 years. [9:28] So we normalize a system that is actually fair, that says every time we elect a president, [9:33] they get two people on the Supreme Court. [9:35] We stop people hanging on well past their prime and make sure that we have a court that operates [9:41] with the kind of integrity and fairness that America deserves and should be a fundamental [9:47] expectation from every citizen. [9:49] So your policies are clear, but I just want to be clear also, would you rule out trying [9:53] to expand the court? [9:55] I think the plan that I have is would actually solve the problems that people who want to [10:01] expand the court are trying to achieve. [10:03] Give term limits of 18 years and put ethics laws on them. [10:08] You would see quick changes to our court, many of whom have been on for more than 18 years. [10:12] And you would actually have a court that serves the people and not the interests of the extraordinary [10:17] billionaires that are showering members of those courts with everything from RVs to tuitions [10:22] to gifts. [10:24] All right, Senator, before I let you go, it is Father's Day. [10:26] You've written about helping your father through his struggle with Parkinson's disease. [10:30] How has that experience shaped what this day means to you? [10:37] I have to say I hurt every Father's Day now. [10:41] I miss my dad. [10:42] It's a hole that will never be filled, but his struggles with dementia and Parkinson's [10:47] broke me apart like the millions, tens of millions of Americans right now who are caring [10:52] for a father or a mother who are struggling with this disease. [10:55] The one thing about these things that shatter us is actually they open us up and give us [11:00] more points of connection. [11:01] We are a nation that does not do enough for people who are at home caring for others. [11:07] We need a national movement that really supports families that are dealing with Alzheimer's, [11:12] Alzheimer's, dealing with dementia. [11:13] We can do so much better as a nation. [11:15] And it now is a personal driving cause of my life for us to give more dignity to those [11:21] people who are caregivers and to those people who are in their final years. [11:24] And to all the dads out there, to all the men even who are not dads by biology, thank [11:29] you for stepping up for our children. [11:31] This nation needs strong men. [11:33] And strength is measured most by how we love and care for others. [11:37] And I'll echo that. [11:38] Senator Booker, thank you for sharing that story. [11:39] And thank you for joining us this morning. [11:42] Thank you for having me. [11:43] You bet. [11:44] We thank you for watching. [11:46] And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app [11:50] or watch live on our YouTube channel.