New Jersey senator Cory Booker held a passionate speech in the senate against Donald Trump and his new policies. But people are just realising the speech gets a new meaning after learning who he is related to.
Senator Cory Booker broke a record on Tuesday, April 1 after holding a 25 hour-long speech in the senate. During his speech, he condemned President Donald Trump and went on to warn the senate about “grave and urgent” danger that Trump’s presidential administration poses to democracy and the American people.
"I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able," Booker said at the beginning of his speech. "I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our nation is in crisis."
He went on to share his long list of concerns about the current government and its new policies, including the cuts to the Social Security offices led by Trump's advisor and Department of Government Efficiency head, Elon Musk. To prove his point, Booker read out personal letters from Americans who have expressed concerns and detailed how much they depend on social security.
Booker also shared his other concerns regarding the current administration, including the funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health, the administration's sweeping crackdown on immigration, including student visas and deportation, as well as the "looming constitutional crisis" of Trump wanting to take over Canada and Greenland.
He also questioned the banning of certain books from libraries and shared concerns from the LGBTQ community, and how it made constituents feel like its "un-Christian and deeply offensive" to their faith.
But much to viewers' surprise, Booker isn't the only well-known person in his family who has stood up against president Trump and anti-LGBTQ policies.
Senator Cory Booker's well-known cousin revealed
Taking to social media platform TikTok, a woman named Alex Marsolais shared her shock after learning that Senator Booker is distantly related to famous drag queen and TV personality, RuPaul.
"Cory Booker, the senator who is speaking, he's cousin is RuPaul," Alex said in her video. "Though you all should know."
The senator and drag queen both appeared on the TV show Finding Your Roots, where the two found out they were distant cousins after having their DNA analysed.
"He looks like my kin," RuPaul said when he found out about the DNA match during the show. "We look, you know... he actually, there's a sweetness about him that I've always loved and an intellect that is undeniable. Every time I've ever seen him, he reminds me of my cousin Jula."
RuPaul has previously been an active activist himself, and has on multiple occasions urged people to register to vote, seeing as one in five LGBTQ adults are not registered to vote in the USA. He has also hosted fundraisers to work against the Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act and other anti-drag initiatives.
In response to the TikTok video, people shared their surprise in the comment section, with one person saying: "Ohhh now I want Cory Booker to win the presidency so RuPaul can perform at the inauguration!"
Another person said: "Rupaul seeing his cousin do a over 24 hour speech: YOU BETTA WERK."
"that’s so funny cause during yesterdays live I was thinking “he kinda looks like RuPaul” LMAO," a third person said, while another viewer wrote: "So being bald and powerful is a family trait."
"Well the slay is a family tradition at this point," another person wrote.
