Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Cory A. Booker

Democrat on Recognizing the 1960 University of Missouri Tigers Football Team 2026-08-06

770 words · 45 sentences · 57 clauses

Statement grade

B–

Average 70 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Thanks 1%Claims 51%Procedure 1%Anecdote 10%Positioning 21%Aside 2%Reasoning 6%The ask 6%Promise 1%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. President, Thanks · 8 wordsI appreciate the good-faith words of my colleague, ThanksClaims · 26 wordsand I will take it to heart that he is against unnecessary deaths and that the GEO Group should be investigated thoroughly and be held accountable. Procedure · 7 wordsI do want to make followup points.Procedure Anecdote · 69 wordsFirst of all, I live in North New Jersey.¹ I used to run the police department as its mayor.² There is nobody who feels more urgency for public safety in my city than I do. I hired many law enforcement officers and worked well with ICE, worked well with the FBI and with the DOJ--with all of the Federal law enforcement officers--in a coordinated effort to protect my community.Anecdote Claims · 24 wordsThis idea that Democrats want to defund ICE is wrong. I actually believe we need law enforcement in our communities to keep us safe. Positioning · 20 wordsBut I want to make sure we do it in a way that comports with our values and our decency.Positioning Procedure · 3 wordsLet’s be clear.ProcedureUnearned certainty Claims · 102 wordsThere is no law enforcement agency in America that has more money than ICE has right now.³ As to this idea that the Democrats have done anything to defund it right now, ICE has more than the FBI, more than the ATF, ⁴and more than the Coast Guard combined.⁵ It is the most well-funded Agency there is. So the idea that they cannot provide for the basic needs of people who are in their facilities is a lie. This is not a money problem. ICE has all the money they need, and they are showing an inability to keep their inmates alive. Aside · 16 wordsNow, I like my colleague’s metaphor that if a bridge is broken, you close the bridge.Aside Anecdote · 9 wordsI know this because, again, I was a mayor.Anecdote Reasoning · 13 wordsIf people are falling through holes on a bridge, we close the bridge. The ask · 18 wordsDo the inspections, but don’t leave people in a hellscape where people continue to die in that facility. Positioning · 5 wordsKeeping that open is irresponsible.Positioning Claims · 39 wordsICE has enough money to transfer to other facilities the people who are a real threat. ICE has enough money to run around my State and overspend for real estate, as they have done in one of my towns.⁶ Positioning · 18 wordsThey are throwing cash around in a way that should offend Republicans and anybody who is fiscally prudent, PositioningClaims · 8 wordsbut we are not holding the people accountable. Procedure · 1 wordsYes, ProcedureReasoning · 35 wordsif something is broken, you stop using it. If people are dying because of a defect in a car, you don’t use it. If people are falling through holes on a bridge, you close it. Positioning · 7 wordsWe have a responsibility to taxpayers’ money, PositioningClaims · 33 wordsand we have shoveled this Agency more money than any law enforcement agency there is, and then we are not doing what is necessary to hold these people, like the GEO Group, accountable. Promise · 8 wordsI will continue to stand for law enforcement. Claims · 32 wordsOne of the reasons I got elected by my State is that we drove crime down in the city of Newark.⁷ Everybody saw it.Unearned certainty Investment came back, and the population came back. Positioning · 25 wordsI believe in creating safety in my community. This is not about the accusations that somehow, Democrats don’t believe we should have strong law enforcement.Positioning Claims · 16 wordsIf anybody believes in that, I know my record here in the Senate speaks to that. Positioning · 60 wordsHow can we stand here and allow this from a facility in which multiple people have died in the most gruesome ways?⁸ How can we allow this from an organization that is supposed to be providing healthcare but is denying it? How can we allow this in accordance with our own values? Enough is enough. Delaney Hall is a nightmare.Positioning Claims · 51 wordsI did not come to the floor to talk about closing facilities all over the country; I am talking about one facility with a record of people dying unnecessarily, with a record of people being denied medical care, with a record of people being denied healthy food--one facility that is failing. Positioning · 25 wordsFor this body to keep it open while waiting for something to change while more people are suffering and may die is irresponsible beyond compare.Positioning Claims · 61 wordsI believe there is common ground on both sides of the aisle where we can achieve the highest levels of safety and also ensure that within our incarcerating facilities, people are treated with dignity.Vague promise I have worked across the aisle with Senator Lindsey Graham, with Senator Chuck Grassley, ⁹and with Senator Mike Lee to improve conditions in the Bureau of Prisons.¹⁰ The ask · 31 wordsI hope that when it comes to ICE facilities and this private, for-profit company where people are dying that we can find some common ground to stop this nightmare from happening.Vague promise

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 56

22 of 26 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Thanks and tributes.What the tags mean “I appreciate the good-faith words of my colleague,”Thanks: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I do want to make followup points.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “First of all, I live in North New Jersey.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “I used to run the police department as its mayor.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “There is nobody who feels more urgency for public safety in my city than I do.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “I hired many law enforcement officers and worked well with ICE, worked well with the FBI and with the DOJ--with all of the Federal law enforcement officers--in a coordinated effort to protect my community.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “But I want to make sure we do it in a way that comports with our values and our decency.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Let’s be clear.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
A remark off to the side of the point.What the tags mean “Now, I like my colleague’s metaphor that if a bridge is broken, you close the bridge.”An aside: no claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “I know this because, again, I was a mayor.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Keeping that open is irresponsible.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “They are throwing cash around in a way that should offend Republicans and anybody who is fiscally prudent,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Yes,”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “We have a responsibility to taxpayers’ money,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I believe in creating safety in my community.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “This is not about the accusations that somehow, Democrats don’t believe we should have strong law enforcement.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “How can we stand here and allow this from a facility in which multiple people have died in the most gruesome ways?”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “How can we allow this from an organization that is supposed to be providing healthcare but is denying it?”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “How can we allow this in accordance with our own values?”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Enough is enough.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Delaney Hall is a nightmare.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “For this body to keep it open while waiting for something to change while more people are suffering and may die is irresponsible beyond compare.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 85

4 of 26 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “Let’s be clear”A framing formula that asserts certainty in place of a source for what follows.
Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “Everybody saw it”Appeals to universal observation instead of citing any record or figure for the crime decline.
A promise with no date, no measure and no one responsible.What the tags mean “I believe there is common ground on both sides of the aisle where we can achieve the highest levels of safety”Asserts an achievable outcome with no actor, date, measure, or success condition.
A promise with no date, no measure and no one responsible.What the tags mean “we can find some common ground to stop this nightmare from happening”A hoped-for outcome with no named actor, date, or concrete step to achieve it.

Claims · 10

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“I live in North New Jersey”Senator Cory Booker lives in North New Jersey.search
2“I used to run the police department as its mayor”Cory Booker, as mayor of Newark, oversaw the city’s police department.search
3“There is no law enforcement agency in America that has more money than ICE has right now”ICE currently has a larger budget than any other federal law enforcement agency in the United States.search
4“ICE has more than the FBI, more than the ATF,”ICE’s current budget is larger than the FBI’s and larger than the ATF’s.search
5“and more than the Coast Guard combined”ICE’s current budget is larger than the FBI, ATF, and Coast Guard combined.search
6“as they have done in one of my towns”ICE overspent on real estate in a town in New Jersey represented by Booker.search
7“we drove crime down in the city of Newark”Crime in Newark declined during Cory Booker’s tenure as mayor.search
8“multiple people have died”Multiple people have died at the Delaney Hall ICE facility.search
9“I have worked across the aisle with Senator Lindsey Graham, with Senator Chuck Grassley,”Booker worked with Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley on criminal justice or prison-related legislation.search
10“with Senator Mike Lee to improve conditions in the Bureau of Prisons”Booker and Senator Mike Lee worked together on legislation to improve conditions in the Bureau of Prisons.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-16