Getty Sen. Cory Booker
Senator Cory Booker will make his case to the American public tonight about why he should be the 2020 Democratic nominee for president in a CNN town hall. The forum has become a popular venue for candidates, especially since the hour-long program allows the candidate to touch on a wide variety of issues.
The town hall is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET (9 p.m. CT/7 p.m. PT) and will be broadcast on CNN. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of CNN on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
CNN is one of 85-plus channels included in the main Fubo bundle.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the town hall on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch shows or events up to three days after they air even if you don’t record them.
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include CNN.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the town hall on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including CNN.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the town hall on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
CNN is included in both the “Sling Orange” and “Sling Blue” channel packages.
You can start a free 7-day trial of either package right here, and you can then watch the town hall live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Cory Booker Town Hall Preview
Senator Cory Booker announced on February 1, 2019, that he was launching a campaign for president. The former mayor of Newark, who has been representing New Jersey in the Senate since 2013, began the race with a more targeted approach than the rest of his competitors, as pointed out by CNN.
Booker announced his candidacy on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, an online urban radio program. Later that day, he appeared on the daytime talk show “The View,” which has an audience made up primarily of women. He also appeared on the Univision show “Despierta America,” where he had the opportunity to demonstrate his fluency in Spanish.
The CNN Town Hall will give Senator Booker access to a wider national audience and the ability to answer pointed questions directly from voters. The format has been shown to boost the national profile of other candidates, especially Mayor Pete Buttigieg. John Hickenlooper, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, and Howard Shultz have all appeared in CNN Town Halls since announcing their own candidacies.
Senator Booker trails some of the more well-known candidates in early polls, but he already has more name recognition compared to a significant number of people in the Democratic field. In a recent Fox News poll, released on March 24, primary voters were asked to name their top choice among the Democratic candidates, including those who have not yet entered the race. 31 percent of those surveyed chose former Vice President Joe Biden as their top choice, with Senator Bernie Sanders following with 23 percent. Senator Kamala Harris and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke both received 8 percent. Senator Booker was named as the top choice among 4 percent of those surveyed, which was the same amount of support Senator Elizabeth Warren received. You can read through the entire poll here.
Senator Booker’s congressional record includes pushing for criminal justice reform. He co-sponsored the First Step Act, which was signed into law in December of 2018. The measure makes changes at the federal prison level, such as reducing minimum sentences for non-violent offenders and improving living conditions for inmates. Senator Booker said in a statement after President Trump signed the bill, “Our country’s criminal justice system is broken – and it has been broken for decades. You cannot deny justice to any American without it affecting all Americans. That’s why the passage of the First Step Act tonight is so meaningful – it begins to right past wrongs that continue to deny justice to millions of Americans.”
On other issues: Senator Booker has said he supports Medicare for All but does not support eliminating private health insurance.
He supports raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. In a tweet from February 26, 2019, Senator Booker quoted sociologist Matthew Desmond, who wrote that a “living wage is an antidepressant. It is a sleep aid. A diet. A stress reliever. It is a contraceptive, preventing teenage pregnancy. It prevents premature death. It shields children from neglect.”
Senator Booker also endorsed the Green New Deal, supports charter schools and favors legalizing marijuana nationwide.