Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) thought The View was going to be friendly territory, but it turned out to be the only place he’s visited on the campaign trail where he was challenged about his gun control plan, including his bizarre proposed “gun buyback” scheme.
During Booker’s appearance on the daytime talk show Wednesday, The View’s Meghan McCain asked Booker pointed questions about his plan to pay for Americans to return their “assault weapons” to the government, and called the idea a “left-wing fever dream.”
Specifically, McCain wanted to know how Booker planned to get guns back from “red state” gun owners like her brother who refuse to turn them over to authorities.
“With all due respect,” McCain prodded, “I speak for a lot of red-state Americans…there’s a lot of Republicans you need to win over.”
“The gun buybacks,” she continued, “just tell me semantically how you’re going to get my brother’s gun back. He’s not giving it back.”
Backed into a corner, Booker couldn’t figure out what to say and resorted to comparing himself to former Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke who recently said he’d send law enforcement to confiscate weapons from gun owners.
“Well, my point is this,” Booker stammered. “I’m not where Beto is, in the way he’s been talking about this.”
“Good, because he’s crazy,” McCain responded.
At one point, the exchange got heated.
“Look, machine guns we don’t have on the streets anymore, right? Because in the 1980s l, we banned them,” Booker offered.
“So you’re going to my brother’s house?” McCain shot back.
“No,” Booker answered, looking lost. “We can find an evidence based way to accomplish this as a country. Other countries have done it. We did with machine guns. Why are we playing into fear mongers that want to make you see this vision — that there’s people going to show up to your house and take your guns away.”
“From Australia to New Zealand, they banned them and they got them off the streets,” Booker finished.
“How Australia did it,” McCain replied. “This is America.”
WATCH:
McCain’s View co-host Sunny Hostin tried to throw Booker a lifeline with an assertion about how fewer guns mean less crime, but she was largely ignored.
The exchange clearly hit a sour note with the Booker campaign. Hours later, on Wednesday night, Booker’s campaign manager tweeted insults at Meghan McCain.
“Not sure what @MeghanMcCain was trying to accomplish with this question but @CoryBooker as usual handled it with grace, class and substance,” she wrote over a link to video of the exchange.
McCain fired back again.
“You’re Cory Booker’s campaign manager,” she tweeted back. “I asked a specific policy question – he says he’s the most direct candidate and all I got was a dodge.”
You’re Cory Bookers campaign manager. I asked a specific policy question – he says he’s the most direct candidate and I’ll I got was a dodge. https://t.co/yv3ZDQLbBc
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) October 30, 2019
“At least Beto is honest about the fact that he wants to take our guns away,” McCain continued.
At least Beto is honest about the fact that he wants to take our guns away. https://t.co/yv3ZDQLbBc
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) October 30, 2019
Indeed, there is a question as to what, precisely, Booker wants to do about guns. He supports a gun buyback program, but when asked, he doesn’t explain what happens if, as in New Zealand, only a handful of gun owners decide to part with their weapons.
On one occasion, back in May, Booker told CNN that he would back legislation that could get Americans “thrown in jail” if they refused to turn over assault weapons, according to the Washington Examiner, after a “reasonable period” following the institution of a buyback.
Since then, though — and especially since Beto O’Rourke grappled with the consequences of his own “buyback” program in public — Booker’s been less forthcoming about his own plan. Until now.