Cory Booker says Marco Rubio has ‘Stockholm syndrome’ as Iran war debate heats up

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Cory Booker launched a sharp attack on Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a CNN appearance on Tuesday, June 2, accusing him of behaving as though he has "Stockholm syndrome" in his relationship with President Donald Trump.

The New Jersey Democrat remarked while discussing the ongoing conflict involving Iran and pushing back against claims from the Trump administration that the war has effectively ended. 

Cory Booker disputes claims that Iran war is over

Appearing on CNN's 'The Source' with Kaitlan Collins, Collins asked Booker whether he agreed with President Trump’s position that Iran had been weakened by the conflict.

Booker acknowledged that Iran's military capabilities had suffered damage but argued that the larger situation remained far from settled.

“Their navy has degraded, their air force is degraded. But as we see, as they continue to launch attacks on our regional allies and the United States as they’re holding the Strait of Hormuz right now, and clearly they overstated the amount of damage they did to missile launches and more,” Booker said.

He went on to argue that the United States had not achieved a decisive victory.

“This is a stalemate that we’re in right now. The most powerful country on the planet, the United States of America, is in a stalemate with Iran, which still has military capabilities,” Booker added.

The senator repeatedly challenged the idea that the conflict had ended, saying the continuing military activity showed otherwise.

According to Booker, ongoing attacks and tensions in the region demonstrate that the situation remains active despite claims from administration officials that the threat has largely been neutralized.

Cory Booker says Americans are still paying the cost of the conflict

Booker also argued that the consequences of the war continue to affect both military personnel and ordinary Americans.

“We have not won this war. This war is not over. We still have military personnel who are at risk. We’re still spending billions of dollars a day in conducting these war operations,” he said.

The senator said the burden extends beyond military operations and reaches American consumers as well.

“And the people who are paying for it. Beyond the tragic loss of 14 soldiers and hundreds injured is the American people every day at the pump,” he said.

Booker maintained that Americans deserve a more honest assessment of the current situation rather than declarations that suggest the fighting has effectively concluded.

Cory Booker compares Marco Rubio to a hostage of Donald Trump

The most striking moment of the interview came when Booker turned his attention directly to Rubio.

“I know, Marco Rubio, I don’t know what happened to him when he became secretary of state,” Booker said.

The senator then delivered the remark that quickly drew attention online.

“It’s like he has Stockholm syndrome, that he’s doing whatever his hostage keeper or the president of the United States is telling him to do and telling him to say it is a complete lie,” Booker said.

Booker argued that Rubio's public comments about the conflict did not reflect the reality of what was happening on the ground.

He also criticized what he described as a lack of seriousness among officials responsible for communicating with the public about the conflict.

As the interview drew to a close, Booker intensified his criticism of the administration's handling of the situation.

“What he said, this war is not over. We are actually doing something that is literally the definition of an act of war, which is an embargo of this of Iran,” Booker said.

“So again, non-serious people in important positions that are not telling the truth, or while the American people are paying the cost for it, this has got to end,” he added.