He would often drill this into me. And say just remember leave the woodpile a little higher than you found it. That showed this metaphor because a mill town and a logging town and somebody who had asked to hold. [laughter] but leaving the woodpile a little higher resonated today in these times that we are in because the man in the woodhouse one white house wants nothing more than to burn the woodpile down. So people ask why did i endorse corey so early flex i dont know how many answer. Maybe he was an amazing mayor. Of a tough city in the midst of one of the worst recessions as country has ever seen and came out of it being successful. [applause] maybe its how he has shown such incredible leadership in the United States senate particularly sitting down with folks on the other side with historic criminal justice refor reform. [applause] maybe its about the grit and resilience he demonstrated after decades of service of new jersey politics. Did you know he succeeded a mayor that was an incumbent 29 years and was as corrupt as they come. That doesnt qualify for him as president i dont know what does. [applause] you know, one of the biggest reasons i decided to endorse senator booker was because this election is one hell of a lot more than just beating donald trump. This election is about who we are and who we aspire to be as americans. I cannot think of anybody else i wouldnt trust that sacred duty to to lead us beyond this dark chapter of our history than our friend, my brother, senator cory booker. [cheers and applause] thank you very much. Thank you very much. This is kind of awesome. First of all thank you for opening your home for me and all of us. That is extraordinary that you create a space for the community to come together. Please give them a round of applause. [applause] and sue, you are a jersey girl and i think they wanted to hear and that you have heard from one of our organizers here. And from when i was a younger person to see how you draw fears to you in life not only talk about how shes working and endorsing but still how they have failed when they come forward to tell their truth. And for her to take her pain to stand up and understand in a nation you need to listen to each other and address please give her one more round of applause. [applause] where did david disappear to cracks . It is like silent bob for crying out loud. There he is. As a state senators come forward i want to thank them. Those that were extraordinary but those that we have a serious man crush going on. Shes over at the house with the kids . So maybe when i get back there later tonight. [laughter] not just an endorser but john has traveled with me to new jersey or iowa when you endorse a man you dont play around im sorry about this but i just want to say this is what we will do so lets have added and open questions for anybody who wants to have a conversation and for those 15 people at home. [laughter] they can find mom. And then have cspan here. I am running because i believe in us and at this point in our nations history cannot define ourselves. This election the Democratic Party we must talk about what we are for and who we are for. We are running against making the campaign all about him. I get frustrated that the number one pole in history right now is to be donald trump i think we should have bigger aspirations than that. [applause] not only from the valleys but from the mountain tops. We all come from common ancestors we all know its about value. And free of demagoguery and mongers every generation has had that. We are not defined by that but how they come together to overcome those things. Every generation, mccarthyism and the entire Political Party using that same rhetoric. So they were against the irish and the italian. We overcame them. There is no monument in our country. We overcame them by talking about who we are. With bigger dogs and bigger fire hoses . Know. We overcome that this is not a referendum but who we are and to each other but because of a common sacrifice and the common cause of race and religion. Know. Not because of those that divide us but the ties that bind us because people understood. We are a nation of patriotism as well as country but you cant love your country unless you love your fellow countrymen and women. Know. It is not a sentiment love is action and sacrifice if your family doesnt have Great Health Care that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. [applause] i am telling you. I will tell you right now. I will tell you really quick. Fifty years ago this summer my parents moved into my favorite new state this is my second favorite newsday. [laughter] when they showed up they would see a black family with these Great Schools so they found a group of activists they were mostly white folks were patriots who got together on the weekends and said we will welcome the stranger. We are not a country of pay or defined and they set up a sting operation with a conspiracy of laws. And said go look at a house and then will send a white couple right behind you. So the house that i grew up in my parents were told it was sold they acted like they love the house. If this grout could shout there was mold in the bathroom. [laughter] papers were drawn up the offer was accepted and on the day of the closing the white couple did not show up but my dad did with a volunteer lawyer. [laughter] [applause] so this should be the end right now but its not. He got so angry he punch my dads layer in the face. Let me tell you i grew up in this beautiful home every time my dad tells the story. [laughter] and then say i had to tackle to get you in this house. [laughter] but after i went off to stanford, oxford, yale you have more degrees than the month of july. [laughter] that he moved to the inner city of newark fighting for people with housing rights as people fought for my housing i gave back. That is not my story it is americas story. We stand up for each other. We believe in each other. There is no common religion we are not a theocracy. We believe in each other. But if we Work Together but indivisible under god to be do incredible things. And every generation did that. Not only jim crow but we put human beings on the moon. I believe our generation we cannot forget to see each other and stand up for each other we have not fully established that healthcare is a right. [applause] and in my dads day and age they believed you should not be in poverty. But now youre below the poverty line. With 12 minimum wage because right now you are below the poverty line. If you could work a fulltime job at a minimum wage you should be able to afford a two bedroom apartment. This is why the issues i am running on stands for common sense. We dont lock you up if you have a Mental Illness this is the common sense that we call ourselves to say we have a crisis in america this is why a lot of my policy start with that idea like raising the minimum wage and the earned income tax credit literally 150 million americans could get a tax break to understand in america we have to see the struggles of each other. Everybody here knows somebody who could be home right now youre taking care of like a special needs child, working around the clock. They dont fall under the ironed income tax credit but if im president they will get a credit for that hardware. [applause] to be born as a birthright and to prioritize giving tax breaks to those who create more money more than what every child has with an interestbearing savings account. And then by the time youre 18 you could have upwards 50000 to start a business or buy a home or go to college to do those kinds of things. Racial wealth and to give everybody a foundation. There is too many towns in america that tax credit is targeted towards them as well. I could go on and i hope we get into policy but there is this idea that we have to invest in each other again and stand up for the common good because the competitors are doing it. Look around the globe and you will see between zero and 4 percent in germany is the Median Income or canada. 7 percent of Median Income to go to college here in america its near 60 percent. If you want to see the most valuable Natural Resource is not oil or gas or coal it is our children. [applause] we used to be the best educators on the planet but then we stopped investing in us. Other countries are doing it. Its only common sense because other countries understand you have to prioritize children other countries have universal prenatal care. We have on the highest infant and Maternal Mortality because they dont get the healthcare we deserve. We also dont have universal preschool. We have to think about what happened to us ill give you an obvious example you can relate to. Over the last decade we have watched china build 18000 miles of highspeed rail going between boston and washington dc and one half hour slower than in the sixties. [laughter] and you are still debating commuter rail. We use to understand the fight in this country was through a common purpose if you want to go far you have to go together so im telling you right now i want everybody here to think to see that policy plan we are learning a lot of things we all have different ideas that this is a campaign not just the head but the heart and the goal of our country. [applause] thats why i have to do some truth telling i have to be honest. You want somebody who will fight fire with fire. I ran a Fire Department thats not a good strategy. Looking at a town hall i got down on the stage hundreds of people there than a guy sees me a former tight end football player. He puts his arm around me and says dude i want you to punch donald trump in the face. I said thats a felony. [laughter] and i challenge him to stick around. I will show you how we beat folks like donald trump he wants you to fight on his terms and turf using his tactics but thats not how we will win this election. Martin luther king said something once that was so profound it is not the vitriolic words and actions instead that silence and action of the good people. We are the good people. The majority of this country dont lose faith in us. This is a referendum on us. This is a time we just cant focus on one guy because this isnt the only senator in the low income community. We need a lot more than just beating donald trump or go you know this 3000 jurisdictions with the children have twice the lead levels. People on my block work fulltime jobs in the new use food stamps to feed their family. These are issues all before donald trump. Seven people shot in my neighborhood just in the last two weeks. These problems are not bigger than us. But is not just the demagogues in washington. But we are tearing ourselves apart as a country right now. Literally if you look at the russians and their tactics and strategies and to undermine the and this is a larger and to unite people to have a new american majority. And then with Climate Change and the Immigration Crisis we cannot be solved with one faction against the other. And then we need to go into a bigger majority in the country this is the story want to end with on that note but what motivates me to run for president every single day i can come out and talk about who we are of the past and the promise of the future. So i decided to do what a lot of senators decide to do. [laughter] i decided to write a book. Its a lot of pressure. [laughter] so i decided to go back as an activist and fight for housing rights. And the head of that group was a woman named lee porter at 92 years old she still the head of the fair housing council. [applause] and now doesnt represent just black people but samesex couples and to provide justice in the country because to her, justice has no color or race or orientation. One nation, one love. And she confirmed the facts of the story. [laughter] and i asked her if she needs to talk to a lawyer who organized everything. And as a retired new jersey state judge. And then they suddenly get all the questions but then he said something that shook me that reaffirmed my lifes purpose. This is about purpose not position. I was so inspired i said why would you help black people move in to your neighborhood if you just said you are struggling you started a business why added time of years of whitefly in real estate prices going down . I remember the moment i made the decision 1965. I dont know what that moment was he said i was sitting at home at the end of a long week watching tv on my couch. But he is watching tv. We used to be the nation of three channels you may not remember this. [laughter] at 11 00 oclock what would happen . They would play the National Anthem and it would be over. The kids were shocked they said what did you do . [laughter] so he is sitting there watching tv most of america was watching tv movie called judgment at nuremberg. So whatever was happening it was because of something that was happening they moved away to show a bridge in alabama. And trying to go to montgomery by Alabama State troopers and then this man was horrified about what happened next this is why they call it buddy one blood he sunday and then they shot teargas on these marchers and then to savagely beat the marchers one of them is my hero and my colleague john lewis. [applause] you can applaud him. Congressman lewis is one the most regal men i have ever met in my entire life. And you had your head cracked open. And taken back because he was unconscious from bleeding profusely. So one guy on a couch a thousand miles away and he said was he shaved he should do something quick snow. Did he do everything to undermine his determination . No. He said i am a patriot and patriotism is about love and it is not complacent. I will not sit on the sidelines of history. I cannot afford a plane ticket to alabama i cannot close my business for one day but i will do the best that i can with what i have and where i am. I did the calculation i could afford one hour a week of pro bono work to see who need some help i found a woman who needed help. We started to Work Together so now organizing other lawyers and then the outreach through 68 and 69 then one kid his family is trying to move up from the south looking for a place to live the names were terry and carolyn booker. They were your parents. I wouldnt be a candidate for president of the United States of america if not for these connections that exist between all of us. The testimony of the achievement of the possible when we recognize our power and our purpose and our connection. This election it has to be large again it cannot be small. It cannot be reduced it is not about one office that needs to be elevated. It needs to be about who we are. And i will tell you right now. If we were willing to show that kind of courageous empathy to have a revival to invest with each other and stand with each other, then we as a nation will not wallow in the valley. And if i have my way and you have your way we will rise to the mountain tops. Thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. So lets talk about it. I will go with laura and then ill come back. I feel like we are running out of time what is your Top Executive priority on day number one the question was how is a guy that is handsome . [laughter] she asked will i make Climate Change one of my Top Priorities . I said to her thats a great question but first of all i want to caution everybody those are running of ten or 20 years in Public Service we were running out of time 20 years ago. So one of the first questions you should say what have you been doing about this issue . When i was chief executive that betrayed the cause of this country and this crisis and did not join the kyoto accord but i didnt sit there and say thats a shame for guys that i may have one of the largest city in my state i reach out to work with another large city we lower the Carbon Footprint of this country we came together with her own climate accord so its not to make climate a separate issue i said climate is how we deal with every issue. So we have this program for ex offenders we will put them to work with the city to garden. We have jobs programs in the city. And then clean energy jobs. Solar panel installation. Loring the Carbon Footprint. If i am your president Climate Change is the center of every single policy. That means Agriculture Policy or the big farm bill will have the incentive in their to pull the carbon out of the air and the procurement process because we know Big Companies change their requirements like walmart said no more antibiotics and chicken if everybody changes their policy this is great. [laughter] but we are some of the biggest of the military supply chain we are the biggest of those that there are but literally we could change the regulation we have so much leveraging power. [applause] i will give you one more thing. Two out of four candidates say i will be joined the paris accord we need to do more. Could out of the campaign if it up pledging to do that. Every one of those dollars should be leverage so other countries can join on the plan and the trade policy when im your president thats why will operate. Because nato is about the common defense natos policies have to be the greatest immediate threat we have two Climate Change. This is not a separate issue. With everything that we do this is by greenpeace the two best candidates are me and greenpeace are me and greenpeace. First of all you one of said be able to join a single. The first people to feel the burn were those in millburn. Thats the only bad joke ill tell. But i have two separate questions both equally important my 14 yearold would ask that she cant vote for the next president what is your plan that shes not gun down before she graduates high school . And then the second question is the Current Senate majority leader we dont need to use names blocking judicial appointments at all levels even from previous administrations for seeing through unqualified judges at all levels including the sub cream court what we do about the judiciary quick. Great questions. So first she wanted me to treat her like baltimore to. [laughter] talk about blocking judges currently and also how do we reclaim balance in the judiciary and the others that i had heard from too ma