Mehdi Hasan on talks of Booker's rise in Democratic Party: 'Let's calm down'

Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan said it’s premature for Democrats to talk about Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) potentially running for president in 2028, saying news cycles pass quickly in President Trump’s Washington.

In an interview on NewsNation’s “On Balance,” host Leland Vittert asked Hasan, a left-leaning commentator, whether he thinks “everybody [is] getting a little too high on Cory Booker,” after the senator set a new record this week for the longest Senate floor speech in history.

“Probably,” Hasan told Vittert in response, before stressing that he was “very impressed” both by Booker’s stamina, in speaking for more than 25 hours without using the restroom, and by the substance of his words, noting the senator at times spoke without referencing his notes.

“So, as someone who studies rhetoric, I was very impressed,” Hasan said. “But the reason I say I agree with you that people are getting high on this is we're not even into, we're not even at 100 days, Leland."

“Trump's first ... term is not even 100 days old,” he continued. “Let's calm down.”

Hasan said it’s hard to predict what the political environment will look like even a few months from now.

“Trump years are like dog years," he said. "You just can't get a sense of time. The idea that we know what's going to happen in July of this year or November of this year, let alone November of 2028 is insane. Things are changing very fast.”

The interview comes as the Democratic Party reflects on its 2024 election loss and considers who is best to lead the party in the future and in what direction. Democrats have also faced criticism for a lackluster response as President Trump has pushed through his ambitious and aggressive agenda, leading to some members, like Booker, opting to pursue unconventional paths to demonstrate their resistance.

Hasan said he expects Booker to be a 2028 candidate but encouraged Democrats to focus on leading the “fight” against Trump’s agenda “in the here and now.”

“It is the $64,000 question," Hasan said, when asked how Democrats find a leader, "and I think you're seeing the left put forward people. You're seeing centrists put forward people. Cory Booker is clearly going to be a candidate.”

“But fundamentally, it doesn't really matter,” he continued. “The 2028 runners and riders are irrelevant to the here and now. In the here and now, Donald Trump is tearing apart the constitutional fabric, democratic values, you know, changing the laws, demonizing judges, ending foreign alliances, wrecking the economy. That needs to be dealt with in the here and now, and that requires a Democratic Party that is willing to stand and fight.”