Cory Booker Announced His 2020 Presidential Run With This Inspiring Video

Are you ready for this? On Feb. 1, Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) announced his bid for the White House, embarking on a road to become the second African American president in United States history. And he did it in a really inspiring way. In Cory Booker's 2020 presidential campaign announcement video, he reflects on some tough times in the country and calls on Americans to come to come together because "we are better when we help each other."

The themes of the video, which comes on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, are about social, racial, and economic justice. He starts off the video by saying that, when he was younger, his family was unable to get a home in a neighborhood with good schools because of their race. He said a group of white lawyers inspired by the Civil Rights Movement started to help families, including his, live where they wanted, which "changed the course of [his] entire life."

"We are better when we help each other," he continued, adding:

The history of our nation is defined by collective action; by interwoven destinies of slaves and abolitionists; of those born here and those who chose America as home; of those who took up arms to defend our country, and those who linked arms to challenge and change it.

I don't want to spoil the whole thing, though — watch it for yourself:

The announcement comes amid speculation that Booker was gearing up to launch a presidential campaign. The senator, who previously served as the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has become a popular figure, largely because of his criminal justice reform efforts, his support of the federal legalization of marijuana, and his backing of Medicare For All. Booker also picked up some steam during the fall 2018 confirmation hearings of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when he released the judge's confidential emails to the public, which reportedly contained a concerning thread about racial profiling, according to The Hill. Representatives for Kavanaugh did not immediately return Elite Daily's request for further comment on the matter.

But he's also seen some controversy. Booker has been called out for supposed disingenuous behavior and pandering, as well as for his past financial support from Wall Street, although he has since stopped taking money from all corporate PACs. "And his continued embrace of charter schools, long a favorite of wealthy donors but currently out of favor among the Democratic grass roots, could create still more problems," The New York Times adds.

Booker has now joined a very crowded pool of Democratic candidates for the 2020 race. Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, Texas and Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Barack Obama, has tossed his hat in the ring. Senators Kamala Harris (D-California), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), as well as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) have announced bids. Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg will also be challenging President Trump. And there could be others. It has been speculated that Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) and former Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke will announce presidential campaigns, per Rolling Stone.

Get ready, friends. It looks like the 2020 race will be quite the battle. May the best candidate win!