Booker 'Shocked' by Republican Rival's Explicit Message to Trump

Justin Murphy told Trump to 'finish' Iran, drawing applause and a stunned reaction from Cory Booker during the New Jersey Senate debate.

The Republican's fiery defense of the Iran war was met with a surprising response from Cory Booker in the Senate debate

New Jersey Rep. Justin Murphy called on Trump to "end" the war with Iran, prompting Booker to criticize his "cowboy foreign policy" during a heated debate. Source: Youtube/@NewJerseyGlobe

Republican Senate rival Cory Booker had a clear message for President Donald Trump about the war in Iran during a recent debate between the two: "End it."

That advice was applauded during Thursday's forum — and by "Way" Booker, who then denounced former Tabernacle Vice Mayor Justin Murphy's remarks as the kind of "Yahoo" foreign policy that has dragged the U.S. into costly wars in the Middle East.

New Jersey is a blue state that has trended redder in recent years, and President Donald Trump flipped key areas in 2024. However, 1972 was the last time a Republican won a U.S. Senate election in the state, when Sen. Clifford Case was re-elected. Senators Nick Brady in 1982 and Jeff Keesa in 2013 later served short terms.

Sen. Cory Booker, left; Former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Murphy, right. (Screenshot/New Jersey Globe via YouTube)

Murphy, an attorney for the Pine Barnes family, got a standing ovation for answering a question about Iran when asked if the president should call Trump for advice on the dispute.

"End that war in a positive way," Murphy replied firmly. We cannot wait halfway and decide that you don't want to do this anymore. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran is an extreme terrorist organization that has deprived the people of Iran and the people of Fars from history and a decent life."

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The exchange highlighted the candidates' opposing approaches to the conflict, with Murphy defending Trump's military campaign and Booker warning of another protracted US war in the Middle East.

As Murphy continued, the split-screen broadcast showed Booker briefly looking down and shaking his head, before pursing his lips for the rest of Murphy's response and raising his eyebrows at one point.

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"Four decades are enough. Murphy began to draw conclusions.

"And I was like, 'Mr. "President, put on your cowboy hat and go out and kick some ass, and do it right." Murphy said.

"Wow," Booker said when moderator David Wildstein pointed at the Democrat and said he looked like he wanted to fire back.

Booker denounces Trump's Iran deal as a "capitulation," calling him the "biggest loser" with "egg on his face."

"Honestly," Booker began. It's the same kind of "Yahoo" foreign policy that has gotten us into Middle East war after Middle East war - with bold-faced leaders who say we're just going to get in there and kick ass. Well, do you know what has happened to the treasury of our country?" Booker replied.

When Murphy was asked a similar question, Booker joked that Wildstein was asking him about "the guy who calls me for advice and literally said, 'I know more than my generals.'

But the former Newark mayor challenged the hypothesis, saying he and the rest of New Jersey have known Trump for years because he "broke our casinos" — referring to the president's former Atlantic City casino businesses.

He accused Trump of repeatedly ignoring the advice, claiming that advisers had to "scramble their keys" to keep him informed during a meeting on the Trans-Hudson rail tunnel project led by Booker and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Murphy was also noted for his comments during the debate on illegal immigration. He left a campaign event in Washington, New Jersey, and looked at the home where a child was allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by Guatemalan illegal immigrant Lester Noe Perez Amador — who the Biden administration had previously released after a Texas county notified ICE that he had taken him into custody, WRNJ reported.

In addition to putting a Republican running for an old blue seat on social media's radar, the exchange on Iran underscored sharp divisions across party lines and within the GOP over Trump's military campaign and how to end it.

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