Booker On 'Late Show,' Trump At UFC: Essex County Gets Presidential

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County has been making some headlines this week when it comes to the 2024 presidential election.

A meeting of Essex County minds took place on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Monday when Colbert – a Montclair resident – spoke with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of Newark. Watch video clips of the conversation here, here and here.

The discussion eventually turned to former president Donald Trump, who recently made his own trip to Essex County (see more below).

Colbert probed Booker about his reaction to Trump’s conviction on 34 felony charges in New York. See Related: Trump Guilty; Landmark Verdict Gets Cheers, Jeers In New Jersey

“Some people are trying to defend the former president – ‘There is no crime’ … ‘This has never been done before’ … ‘It’s weaponizing our justice system against [former president Trump],” Colbert inquired, imitating some of the claims that Trump’s supporters have been putting into the public discussion – including U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.

Booker – who has argued that Trump got a fair shake in court (and lost) – told Colbert that he finds the arguments from the former president’s supporters to be “ridiculous.”

The senator pointed out that Trump is still facing two federal indictments for alleged election interference and his handling of classified documents. He is also facing a state criminal indictment in Georgia for alleged election interference in 2020.

“Donald Trump – for his entire career – has been cited again and again for breaking laws,” Booker continued. “And people who defend him never say he did not manipulate documents in a criminal way. They do not say that he did not use his charity for unjust purposes. They don’t defend that.”

Instead, the former president’s supporters seem to take a “higher view” that Trump should be above the law, Booker charged.

“Well, as a Black guy from Newark, I really do believe as an American that tearing down the criminal justice system when it finally holds to account a person who a pattern and practice for violating laws … for corruption … for thinking the rules don’t apply to him … to me – this is a moment of justice,” he added, getting a loud round of applause from Colbert’s audience.

• Read More: NJ Residents Weigh In On Trump's Conviction (See Poll Results)
• Read More: Donald Trump's Liquor Licenses At NJ Golf Clubs In Jeopardy

TRUMP IN NEWARK

Meanwhile, the former president paid a visit to the Prudential Center in Newark to attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match last weekend after the landslide verdict was announced.

Trump got a rousing ovation from the crowd of about 16,000 spectators when he entered the arena, which was his first public outing since the conviction. The former president’s arrival at the Prudential Center inspired a loud chant that his supporters have made ubiquitous on social media: “F*** Joe Biden.”

“It takes a lot of balls for someone to walk into a big event like this, after all the stuff he’s been through for the last three days,” an attendee told a reporter with The New York Times.

Fans weren’t the only ones impressed by Trump’s ringside appearance. Video footage of middleweight Kevin Holland climbing over the arena fence to share his victory with the former president has racked up hundreds of thousands of views online.

Ironically, Trump’s UFC experience took place in Newark, which he has repeatedly mocked over the years as a “failed” city, once claiming that Booker “ran it into the ground” when he formerly served as mayor.

• See Related: 'How Is Newark Doing?' Trump Mocks. 'Awesome,' City Replies

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