Sen. Cory Booker Announces Presidential Bid – And Won’t Forget Hot Pockets

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker made it official today: The New Jersey Democrat declared he’s running for president  in 2020.

“I’m running for president,” Booker tweeted today, the first day of Black History Month. “Join me on this journey.”

In a video Twitter message about his decision to run (hear it below), Booker said, “I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind, where parents can put food on the table, where there are good-paying jobs with good benefits in every neighborhood, where our criminal justice system keeps us safe, instead of shuffling more children into cages and coffins, where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame. It is not a matter of can we, it’s a matter of do we have the collective will, the American will? I believe we do.”

Booker’s official announcement gives him an early spot in what is expected to be a crowded field of Democratic candidates. Booker joins Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the post-announcement category, with Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand expected to officially enter the race shortly.

Gillibrand, in fact, tweeted a humorous message to her friend Booker, expressing well wishes while seeming to reserve a seat for herself:

Here are a few other responses to Booker’s announcement (following the announcement itself), including Booker’s nicely done reaction to a pro-Trump troll:

And finally, Hot Pockets, perhaps daydreaming about some Democratic version of the Trump-Big Mac love story, tweeted the following photo of Booker holding a package of Hot Pockets and Lean Pockets. “Don’t forget us when you get elected,” the company beseeches, to which Booker serves up a perfect response. Check it out: