Cory Booker: “Thank you, sir. The alligator was his reputation--had taken over as his leadership. And we, this bipartisan merry group…”

“Thank you, sir. The alligator was his reputation--had taken over as his leadership. And we, this bipartisan merry group of Senators were going there to sit there in a unified, bipartisan way and say to this new leader: You need to honor democratic principles. You need to honor free and fair elections, that we want to be your partner, we want to be your friend, but it is time for a new peaceful democratic Zimbabwe. And as we landed--I don't know if you remember--he was landing, too, in the airport. And he was coming from China. He was coming from China which has different values than we have. In fact, you and I both see now all over the continent of Africa a competition. We come with USAID. We come with PEPFAR. We come with a program called AGOA, helping with economic development. We come with scientists that stand in the breach against the worst infectious diseases. One of the most courageous things I saw Chris Coons do in my life was when the Ebola scare was happening 8 years ago and was starting to show up on our shores, you did something that people were afraid to do. You went to Africa to visit with the people from our country that are there fighting Ebola. You had to come and quarantine when you came back to make sure you didn't have it. It was amazing because you were going there to say to the world, I, Chris Coons, Senator from Delaware, is here, but America is here. America knows that an infectious disease anywhere is a threat to public health everywhere.…”