Booker Says Founders Wrote 'Bigotries' Into Constitution

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., accused America's founders of writing bigotries into the Constitution.

Booker, who is an announced 2020 presidential candidate, made his comments during an interview on NPR's "Morning Edition."

"The founders were imperfect geniuses," he said. "They wrote a lot of our bigotries into (the Constitution) . . . if you think about how we have overcome those things, it's always been by creating, first, calls to consciousness, speaking truth about the injustices, and then bringing together those uncommon coalitions."

Booker added: "We are a nation of conscience, and I found partners on the other side of the aisle who agree with me on these issues. And we can build from there. In fact, when I first came to the Senate, people laughed. I had people telling me, 'There's no way you're going to get a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill done.'"

The Washington Free Beacon noted it was unclear what Booker was specifically referring to when he used the term "bigotries." A Free Beacon request for comment was not immediately returned.

• Poll: Majority in NJ Say Booker Wouldn't Make Good President
• Booker Vows To Look 'to Women First' for Running Mate