On April 1st, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker broke the Senate record for the longest filibuster ever, speaking for 25 hours and 5 minutes to protest the recent actions of President Donald Trump.
Sen. Booker, who took inspiration from leaders of the Civil Rights Movement (such as the late Representative John Lewis), beat the filibuster record previously held by Strom Thurmond, a segregationist South Carolina senator. In his speech, Sen. Booker addressed many aspects of the Trump administration’s policies with which he disagrees, including the “looming constitutional crisis,” President Trump’s cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, the president’s “outrageous” immigration policy, as well as international and national security issues.
Sen. Booker’s strong dedication to his filibuster was clear throughout his speech, as he did not cease speaking for the full 25 hours, excepting the questions his fellow Democratic senators asked to give him brief rests. The senator’s unyielding resolve could also be seen by the immense amount of physical duress Sen. Booker put himself under to perform this act of defiance. The senator told the Associated Press that he fasted for days prior to his speech and did not consume liquids the night before it, only drinking a sparse few glasses of water during the entire time he spoke on the Senate floor.
In his record-breaking speech, Sen. Booker was quoted as saying, “This is not right or left. It is right or wrong. This is not a partisan moment, it is a moral moment. Where do you stand?”
After he recovered from his act of defiance on April 1st, Sen. Booker decided to visit Montclair to speak at the “Hands Off!” protest held in Brookdale Park on Saturday, April 5th, in the early afternoon.
At the protest, demonstrators gathered in the rain to express their opposition to Pres. Trump’s policies, similar to how Sen. Booker protested against the Trump administration via his filibuster speech. These protesters, including many MHS students, rallied against what they perceive to be (according to the Hands Off! website) the “all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights” orchestrated by President Donald Trump and billionaire head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk.
Victoria Luna, a freshman at MHS, explained to the Mountaineer the reason she chose to attend the Hands Off! Protest: “Me and my family have become increasingly frustrated with the current administration. I don’t feel represented or protected by my government and it is so incredibly sad. Going to this protest made me feel seen and supported my feelings.”
Sen. Booker began his keynote address to the protest by asserting that the “power of the people was greater than the people in power,” radiating a spirit of protest. Once again, the senator invoked Civil Rights leaders, saying that “for every Musk, there’s a Martin [Luther King], a Medgar [Evers], a Malcolm [X], and millions of others that stood up and said: ‘I will stand for America even when they try to tear it down.’” Sen. Booker urged the Hands Off! demonstrators to continue to participate in community activism after the end of the protest, telling them that “change does not come from Washington, it comes to Washington.”
Somewhat surprisingly, Sen. Booker did not mention his record-breaking filibuster until the end of his speech, when he joked to protesters that he could “stand a long time” speaking. The senator dismissed his own struggle in beating the filibuster record, stating that the work of average Americans (his examples were nurses, policemen, and farmworkers) required an equal amount of “standing a long time.” Sen. Booker urged protesters to stand up “for all of those people who are weary and tired and worried, who’ve been standing and feel like they can’t stand anymore.”
Luna had high praise for Booker’s speech, referencing his filibuster by saying that “[Senator Booker] had just completed a great feat, speaking for over 24 hours, and every reference he made to it landed perfectly.” She continued: “He spoke about taking action which I think is so important because it doesn’t matter how angry you are, if you don’t do anything about it, nothing will change. I think the whole crowd was really captivated by him and I look forward to seeing what he does in the future.”
Booker concluded his Hands Off! speech on a hopeful and enthusiastic note: “We will stand together, we will rise together, we will fight together, and together, we the people, together, we the people will win this fight!”
