Sen. Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility MORE (D-N.J.) on Friday criticized former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Fox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio MORE, a fellow 2020 White House hopeful, for his Thursday night debate response to his record on racial issues such as school busing and working with segregationists during his time in the Senate.

“I think that Joe Biden is going to have to talk a lot about his record during this election, and I think it’s only right that he talk about everything from his support of the 1994 crime bill, which was jet fuel to mass incarceration, all the way to his stance on busing,” Booker said in a Friday interview on CNN’s "New Day."

When asked about Biden’s defense of his busing record, @CoryBooker says the next nominee has to be open, honest and vulnerable. ⁰⁰“If they make mistakes... they can't fall into a defensive crouch and shift blame. They have to be able to help our country heal and reconcile.” pic.twitter.com/QIAaeSdF9O — New Day (@NewDay) June 28, 2019

Booker noted the tense jabs between Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisHundreds of lawyers from nation's oldest African American sorority join effort to fight voter suppression Biden picks up endorsement from progressive climate group 350 Action 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing MORE (D-Calif.) during the second night of the first 2020 Democratic debates, during which Harris slammed Biden for opposing federally mandated school busing as a means of integrating schools.

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“There’s real racial issues we’ve got to deal with. The next nominee, whoever they are, is going to have to be able to talk about this in an open and honest and even vulnerable way," Booker said. "If they make mistakes, if they say something wrong, as we all do, they can’t fall into a defensive crouch and shift blame. They have to be able to help our country heal and reconcile and deal with these difficult issues that persist in our country. We need someone who can unite this nation and bring us together to common purpose again.”

“I think that anyone who knows our painful history knows that on voting rights, on civil rights, on the protections from hate crimes, African Americans in this country and many other groups have had to turn to the federal government to intervene because there were states that were violating those rights. There were states and state policies that were driving these deep divisions in our country,” the New Jersey senator added later in the interview.

Booker also criticized Biden again for his comments on working with segregationist Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) in an effort to get “things done” during his time in the Senate. Booker called on Biden to apologize for the comments earlier this month.

“We have to have a nominee that’s up to this challenge, and I think we’re going to see whether or not Joe Biden is. I don’t think you can fault folks like me for calling him out if he fails to live up to the standard that our next nominee should have and speak to the real pain and the real hurt that I think Kamala spoke to last night,” Booker said.