“Is Cory Booker for real?” — Why Democrats Should Think Twice Before Betting on the Senator From New Jersey
Many see Senator Cory Booker as presidential material — but his complex personal ties raise questions about his judgment.
Frustrated Democrats experienced whiplash recently when Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) voted to confirm Charles Kushner, a longtime ally, as ambassador to France just eight weeks after a marathon 25 hour anti-Trump filibuster. And while that spectacle scratched a specific itch to ‘fight back’ that many Democrats felt had been unaddressed by the party (particularly by Chuck Schumer's unwillingness to shut down the government over a continuing budget resolution), many also noted that Booker's performance was extremely low-stakes. While he held the floor for 25 hours, it wasn't about anything, and didn't change any outcomes. It was, for lack of a better description, a filibuster about nothing.
Booker's name is now frequently floated as a potential presidential contender in 2028. But his vote for Kushner (the only such vote by a Democrat) should serve as a reminder of Booker's alignments and background that may make him an unreliable choice as the Democrat's flag-bearer and de-facto head of the party.
Roots with Boteach and Chabad
Booker, raised as an American Baptist, famously spent the years 1992-1994 on a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University in England. It was there that he became close with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who said in 2019, “We shared common values, and there was this deep-seated love between us that made us feel like we were brothers. It was a much more innocent time.”
Boteach, a conservative, founded the L’Chaim Society, an Orthodox Jewish student group. Booker became co-president and the two socialized every Friday, with Booker cooking “Jewish soul food” with Boteach's wife Debbie.
While such horizon-expanding experiences are not uncommon in college settings, Booker became not only passionate about Judaism but enmeshed in Chabad, the quasi-evangelical network affiliated with Boteach.
Chabad, a messianic Jewish sect founded in Lithuania in 1775, has in recent decades become a major factor in geopolitics, thanks in part to Vladimir Putin. While Judaism has a long history in Russia, Putin saw some factions as more pliable than others. One of Putin's first actions as prime minister was to recruit his trusted confidants Roman Abramovich (a favored oligarch) and Lev Leviev (a diamond magnate) to form a group called the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. The goal of the group was to use Chabad as a foundation for networking “friendly” Jewish groups under one common umbrella. Other groups, such as the Russian Jewish Congress led by media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky, would be sidelined. Rabbi Berel Lazar became head of Chabad and was granted Russian citizenship in May 2000; he became known as “Putin's Rabbi.”
A 2019 Washington Post profile suggested that Boteach, a major Trump backer, and Booker were no longer on speaking terms (a claim which deserves fresh scrutiny), but Booker's links to the Kushner family appear to be alive and well.
Booker's Chabad Backer: Charles Kushner
By the time Booker ran for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, in 2002, Charles Kushner was one of the largest donors to Chabad — after Abramovich and Leviev. Kushner was also one of Booker's largest donors. Kushner, who was convicted of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering, contributed the maximum amount possible to Booker's unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2002. Their relationship continued into his successful 2006 bid.
According to author Vicky Ward, the two continued to collaborate even after Kushner had been released into a halfway house. In 2019, Ward wrote in her book Kushner, Inc., “During his stay [in Newark], Charlie was permitted to work from a nearby office, where Cory Booker, who became Newark mayor around that time and is now a U.S. senator, would meet with him on the stairway.” However Ward noted that Booker and Kushner had at least a temporary falling out after Booker voted in support of the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.
Regardless, Booker received significant ongoing support not only from Charles Kushner but from his son Jared Kushner and daughter-in-law Ivanka Trump. A 2017 Snopes article investigating Kushner-Booker ties concluded that the Kushner family contributed at least $207,000 to Booker's various campaigns.
Booker attended the wedding of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in 2009, and Ivanka Trump personally hosted a $5,200 per person fundraiser for Cory Booker in 2013.
Booker defending Jared Kushner after his security clearance was revoked in 2017. (CNN)
Further questions were raised about Booker-Kushner ties in 2017 when Booker had been perceived as defending Jared Kushner after his security clearance was revoked. Booker equivocated, saying he would prefer to see an investigation into the reasons for the revocation.
Booker also received criticism in 2018 for backing the so-called First Step Act, a prison reform initiative championed by Jared Kushner. In 2024, he said of his work on that legislation, “Truly one of the best experiences of my life was working on this legislation, rolling up sleeves, sitting at tables and working with good-faith people on both sides of the aisle to do something that was very remarkable.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also courted the Chabad network for decades. A 1988 video posted on the Chabad website commemorates Netanyahu's visit with the Chabad (Lubavitcher) Rebbe, who told him, “I had much satisfaction from your first speech in the Knesset. Continue along this approach, for it is the best path to avoid war. You will have to struggle with 119 others in the Knesset, but surely you won’t be intimidated, because G-d is on this side.”
Netanyahu's network continues to display alignment with Chabad. Opposition leader Yair Lapid claimed in March 2025 that “Chabad Chassidim are political activists for Netanyahu.” Lapid suggested that this violated the original spirit of Chabad, saying, “The Rebbe was very adamant against the idea that Chabad should be part of some political activity,” and claimed that Chabad followers “had worked to help Netanyahu become prime minister” in the last election.
And according to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, it was after a visit to the Long Island gravesite of Chabad Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson that he had the idea to recruit Elon Musk to run DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency service. Trump and Lutnick traveled by car to the gravesite together, and Lutnick said it was during this ride that he told Trump he would recruit Musk.
An American Tax Cheat in Paris — and Monaco
Now that, thanks in part to Booker's vote, Charles Kushner has been confirmed as ambassador to France, it is reasonable to speculate what interests might be served by having a Chabad backer in the top American diplomatic post in one of Europe's most powerful and influential countries.
France is home to Europe's largest Jewish population (about 600,000) — third in the world after Israel and the United States. According to Chabad-Lubavitch of France, there are more than 200 Chabad centers in the country, and over 15,000 children enrolled in Chabad day schools. By any measure, France can be considered an important Chabad stronghold.
Kushner's post also includes co-assignment as ambassador to Monaco, which has an independent sanctions regime that has become important in the wake of Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The country imposed sanctions meant to punish Russian interests and encourage Putin to exit Ukraine, but Kushner may see an opportunity to influence Monaco's leaders as a “tip of the spear” strategy to effect more favorable sanctions regimes in France.
Additionally, Pavel Durov, founder of the popular messaging application Telegram, is currently being held in France. Telegram, which has been seen as strategically aligned with Russian interests, just announced a deal with Elon Musk's xAI to distribute its Grok AI chat agent to Telegram users. The deal, in which xAI will pay Telegram $300 million and a share of profits, is set to last for one year. It would not be surprising to see Charles Kushner advocate for Durov's release.
Musk has his own connection with the Kushner family. Jared Kushner was instrumental in helping to raise funds from Saudi and Qatari sources for Musk's $44 billion buyout of Twitter in 2022.
And of course France is a linchpin in any discussion of European security. The placement of Charles Kushner in Paris serves multiple purposes, helping to align official French views closer to those of both the Kremlin and the Netanyahu government, all with the imprimatur of American power and influence.
A Risk Too Great — And a Bad Bet
As Democrats evaluate strategies for 2026 and 2028, they would be well advised to consider the downside risks of all candidates — especially those who may assume the role of standard bearer.
In Booker's case, the chance that he may be influenced by problematic longstanding affiliations and personal ties appears to be a risk too great. Whether he is acting in bad faith or not, he appears to have many complicating affiliations that have fueled his ascent and guided his actions over more than 30 years.
Given the choice between a candidate like Booker and those with less complex and compromising personal backgrounds, Democrats would be foolish to expose the party (and America's future) to such potentially catastrophic downside risk. ■
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