Justin Murphy, the New Jersey GOP senatorial candidate running against incumbent Cory Booker (D-NJ), brought the house down in a debate with Booker when he was asked what he would tell President Trump to do vis-à-vis Iran.
Booker had just finished carping, “He invaded Iran. And now he’s caught in another Middle east quagmire costing us all,” when moderator David Wildstein of the New Jersey Globe asked Murphy, “Let’s say that the president calls you … President Trump calls you and says, I’ll do whatever you want. What do I do in Iran? What’s your answer?”
“Finish it. Finish that war in a positive manner,” Murphy, a U.S. Navy veteran, fired back without a second’s hesitation. “We can’t wait halfway through and decide we don’t want to do this anymore. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a radical terrorist organization that has deprived the Iranian people and the Persian people of their history and of a decent life. They have murdered, raped, tortured, assassinated, promoted and promoted terrorism all throughout the world, especially in the region of the Middle East. They are a cancer on human existence.”
“I remember as a young boy … 1979, watching the radical Islamic terrorists storm over the walls of our embassy, and 52 Americans held for 444 days,” he recalled. “And ever since November of 79, the IRGC in Iran has done nothing but export terror, murder, rape, oppression, and assassination to the region and to the world, and it’s time it stops. Four decades is enough. The Iranian people have suffered enough. And I would say, ‘Mr. President, put your cowboy hat on and get out there and kick some a** and get this done and done right.”
Booker boasts a jaw-dropping $23 million in cash on hand, according to late-June FEC filings, while his Murphy, held a paltry $123. Add in the fact that the Garden State hasn’t sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1972, and the odds look steep. But Murphy isn’t shying away. “He does have a lot of money,” Murphy has pointed out. “I’d like to know how much of it came from inside New Jersey and how much came from outside.”
Booker, while acknowledging Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, has argued that no president has the authority to wage war without Capitol Hill. Booker introduced a war powers resolution to force a troop withdrawal, leading a faction dubbed the “Senate Six” to stall floor business until top officials testified. His resolution ultimately tanked in a 47-53 vote after Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman broke ranks to help block it.
Taking his attacks even further during a “Meet the Press” appearance in June, Booker blasted both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “These are two failed world leaders,” Booker spat, adding, “Between Israel and America, we have two criminal presidents.”