Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey says he has a girlfriend — but he won’t name her.
The 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, a lifelong bachelor who has dealt with rumors of homosexuality since he became a public figure, said Tuesday on “The Breakfast Club” radio show that “I got a boo.”
“Before I declared for president, I’m dating someone that’s really special to me,” the 49-year-old senator said, without revealing the woman’s name.
The New York Post’s Page Six column reported last month that the woman was actress Rosario Dawson, but Mr. Booker refused to confirm that in January when The Post asked him at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting.
In Tuesday’s radio interview, he made clear his discomfort with the topic.
“Now look please, what have we gotten myself right into, man,” he said, with an awkward laugh. “Of all the issues we’ve talked about, this is the most uncomfortable part of this interview.”
He also demurred when pressed by his hosts whether anything would change by the time he would walk into the White House, which has only been occupied by one lifelong bachelor, James Buchanan. Grover Cleveland got married while serving his first term.
“First of all, there’s two more years until I might fulfill this duty, so give me some time,” he responded. “My girlfriend might listen to this.”
Mr. Booker also used the question as a way to attack President Trump.
“I think that if Donald Trump can get elected president at this point with the personal life that he has, then anybody can,” he said.
As a 49-year-old never-married man, Mr. Booker often faces whispers that he is gay, though he has denied them, most recently in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer in December.
“I’m heterosexual,” he told the paper. “Every candidate should run on their authentic self [and] tell their truth.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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