Cory Booker says of the Kennedy Center that Trump is trying to "hold it hostage until he gets his name on it"
U.S. Senator (D-NJ), in an interview on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins
“Him taking an institution of the arts, named after a slain president, paid for by taxpayers, he's trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it. This is absolutely ridiculous.”
Source and context
Interview
About this source
CNN's published transcript of the show (aired 9-10 PM ET on Sept. 17), labelled a rush transcript that may not be in final form. The quotation uses its punctuation; the wording was checked against the audio (Collins's own clip and CNN's podcast audio) and matches, with only punctuation differing (transcript: 'slain president, paid for by taxpayers, he's trying'; audio and Collins's X post: 'paid for by taxpayers. He's trying').
Original post
About this source
Post by the show's host on her own account (fxtwitter: created 2026-09-18T01:32:24Z, i.e. 9:32 PM ET on Sept. 17) with a 50-second clip of Booker's answer. I downloaded the video, extracted the audio and transcribed it with mlx-whisper; the words match the CNN transcript. The post text itself quotes 'This is what we are talking about tonight, him taking an institution of the arts named after a slain president, paid for by taxpayers. He's trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it.'
Original video
About this source
Audio-only podcast edition of the same broadcast; the CNN page lists it as posted Sep 18, 2026. The MP3 (podtrac redirect to traffic.megaphone.fm/WMHY2857288045.mp3) was fetched for its first 15 minutes and transcribed with mlx-whisper; the Booker passage matches the transcript word for word.
Before the quotation
The segment followed an AFP photograph, taken the previous night at Joint Base Andrews, of President Trump looking at a poster that CNN said appears to read "Kennedy Center Demolished," and a clip of Trump's September 16 remarks to reporters. Collins asked Booker whether Trump is "laying the groundwork to knock down the Kennedy Center."
After the quotation
Booker went on to say that Republicans are not asserting Congress's authority to hold the president accountable and that he would do everything he can "to fight to not have it be torn down."
How this statement is classified
Case context: Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case's fixed reference point is President Trump's stated position that the Kennedy Center's closure and renovation depend on recognition for his administration, as expressed in his September 15 Truth Social post and reaffirmed in his September 16 remarks to reporters. Asked about Trump's remarks and the 'Kennedy Center Demolished' photograph, Booker says Trump is "trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it" and calls that "absolutely ridiculous," an express rejection of tying the institution's fate to Trump's name. The closest competing label is challenges_characterization, because "hold it hostage" is Booker's own description of the position. That loses because he pairs the description with a direct evaluation instead of only disputing how the position should be labeled.
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Donald Trump's statements linking the Kennedy Center's renovation to recognition for his administration
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