Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), the former New Jersey mayor who entered the Democratic presidential primary to provide “the answer to Donald Trump’s hatred and division,” has suspended his campaign.
“I got in the race for president because I believed to my core that the answer to the common pain Americans are feeling right now, the answer to Donald Trump’s hatred and division, is to reignite our spirit of common purpose to take on our biggest challenges and build a more just and fair country for everyone,” announced Booker in a post on Medium.
“We moved the debate forward on gun violence — introducing a plan with the most aggressive gun safety measures our country had ever seen. We advocated for progressive, swift change to our criminal justice reform system. We fought to protect and strengthen reproductive rights and access to abortion,” continues Booker.
“We must remember that throughout the campaign to come, and as we work to build a more just America in Trump’s wake,” says Booker.
President Trump promptly trolled Booker over the decision to suspend his campaign, tweeting “Really Big Breaking News (Kidding): Booker, who was in zero polling territory, just dropped out of the Democrat Presidential Primary Race. Now I can rest easy tonight. I was sooo concerned that I would someday have to go head to head with him!”
Really Big Breaking News (Kidding): Booker, who was in zero polling territory, just dropped out of the Democrat Presidential Primary Race. Now I can rest easy tonight. I was sooo concerned that I would someday have to go head to head with him!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2020
The tweet follows a similar format Trump used to troll Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) after she dropped out of the presidential primary race in August. “A sad day for the Democrats, Kirsten Gillibrand has dropped out of the Presidential Primary. I’m glad they never found out that she was the one I was really afraid of,” said Trump.
A sad day for the Democrats, Kirsten Gillibrand has dropped out of the Presidential Primary. I’m glad they never found out that she was the one I was really afraid of!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2019
According to the RealClearPolitics national polling average, Booker had a polling average of 1.8%. At the time the New Jersey senator dropped out of the race, he was only polling ahead of one other candidate: John Delaney, the former healthcare executive and congressman who has been running for president since the summer of 2017.
Last September, Booker successfully made a desperate fundraising plea, telling fellow Democrats that he needed to raise $1.7 million in order to continue his campaign, according to the Hill.
However, during the fourth quarter of 2019, Booker trailed significantly behind the top-tier candidate in terms of fundraising, having only raised $6.6 million, according to Fox News. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), who is the current Iowa frontrunner according to the latest Des Moines Register Poll, raised $34.5 million during the same period.
On the other hand, President Trump handily out-raised Sanders in the fourth quarter, bringing in $46 million amidst an impeachment inquiry. “President Trump’s unprecedented fundraising is testament to his wide grassroots support and his stellar record of achievement on behalf of the American people,” said Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, according to CNBC.
At the beginning of January 2020, the Trump campaign had over $102.7 million in cash to spend on the upcoming presidential election.