Cory Booker on his record-breaking, 25-hour Senate floor speech

On Monday evening, Sen. Cory Booker stood on the Senate floor and began a speech criticizing the Trump administration.

The 55-year-old Democrat from New Jersey kept talking and talking — through the night and into the next day — for 25 hours and 5 minutes.

He did not sit. He did not eat. He did not use the restroom.

“The body is weary in a lot of places, from my back to my feet and to my legs, I’m just feeling it,” Booker told All Things Considered host Juana Summers. “But my soul is soaring and I feel very blessed by the whole experience.”

His effort, which involved dozens of fellow Senate Democrats asking questions to relieve his speaking burden, set a record for the longest speech on record in the chamber. It surpassed the previous record set in 1957 by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the Civil Rights Act.

Booker started his speech at 7 p.m. Monday and pledged to use his time to disrupt “the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.”

“In just 71 days, the president has inflicted harm after harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the foundations of our democracy and any sense of common decency,” he said in his introductory remarks. “These are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”

Booker had said his impassioned anti-Trump speech comes at a time when many constituents are questioning the direction of the party.

“Cory Booker is looking for another ‘I am Spartacus’ moment, but that didn’t work for his failed presidential campaign, and it didn’t work to block President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. When will he realize he’s not Spartacus — he’s a spoof?” the spokesperson, Harrison Fields, said in a statement.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights