Podcast Summary: IHIP News

Episode Title: Cory Booker Face Plants in Disaster Interview...Again
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie “Pumps” Sullivan
Date: April 6, 2026

Episode Overview

Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan, progressive podcasters based in a red state, take a critical and comedic look at Senator Cory Booker’s recent appearance on Pod Save America—focusing on his reluctance to clearly label Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal. The hosts discuss the broader failure of Democratic leadership to show moral clarity, deal with cancel culture, connect with the base, and engage meaningfully with independent media spaces. The episode combines sharp political critique, inside anecdotes, plenty of direct commentary, and some pointed humor throughout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cory Booker's Interview Evasion

• The Netanyahu Question:

  • Jennifer highlights how Democratic leaders, including Cory Booker, struggle to call Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal despite clear allegations of war crimes and genocide by Israel.
  • Quote, Jennifer (01:05):
    “Why do members of the Democratic Party have such a hard time saying Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal? Israel has committed war crimes. They have committed a genocide. Why can't they start with facts...?”
  • Booker's response on Pod Save America is played, revealing his unwillingness to outright use the term “war criminal,” instead criticizing Netanyahu for “enabling” and for the actions of his administration.
  • Booker (01:56):
    “This is not a political test for me. Benjamin Netanyahu is a horrible person who enabled October 7th...he should be held accountable for any crimes that he's...committed.”

• Hosts’ Reaction to Booker's Evasion:

  • Angie “Pumps” Sullivan (02:47):
    "My take on that is he's a coward and that he is not calling him a war criminal. He's dancing around it so that he can still backtrack... so that he can still backtrack on it when he is able to forgive the crimes that have been committed."
  • Jennifer (03:05):
    "He danced around the West Bank, and he talked about Netanyahu enabling October 7, but he refuses to say...Israel has committed a genocide. These are war crimes...If we cannot start the conversation off by stating facts...Democratic Party...does the same thing over and over again, and...expects a different result."

2. Cancel Culture & Democratic “Authenticity”

• Canceling Critics, Canceling Hassan Piker:
  • The hosts discuss the Democratic establishment’s hypocrisy—denouncing “cancel culture” while attempting to “cancel” voices like progressive streamer Hasan Piker.
  • Jennifer criticizes the Dems for wanting to appear on podcasts as “real people,” but still sending strict talking points and being overly scripted.
  • Jennifer (06:41):
    “...when I saw this clip, this struck me...Cory Booker will take a photograph with Benjamin Netanyahu in the middle of a genocide, but draws the line with going on Hasan Piker's twitch.”
  • Pumps (05:43):
    “I have long been someone that only develops new ideas and evolves in my thought when I am challenged...I do not think you can have that if you want to silence anyone that disagrees with you.”

3. Hypocrisy in Media Engagement

• Scripted vs. Authentic Media Appearances:
  • Jennifer recounts her own direct experience with Cory Booker and other politicians:
    • Booker’s team was exceedingly cautious, tried controlling interview topics, and had a “meltdown” when unscripted questions came up.
    • In contrast, Rep. Ro Khanna showed up, took any question, and was open to “Epstein stuff” and other tough topics.
  • Jennifer (08:39):
    “When we filmed with Cory Booker...all of the Democrats came to us. We want to be on your pod. We want to be on your pod...Cory Booker's office, it’s in our producers, Corey wants to talk about xyz...but right out of the gates, I asked him, what have you had it with? And he said, I’ve had it with corporate money. And I was just like, please, you take, like, millions of dollars in APAC money.”
  • Pumps (11:23):
    “You can’t go on a podcast and be unscripted if your staff is telling the podcast what the talking points are.”

4. The Establishment’s Disconnect & Polling

• Base Frustration & Declining Trust:

  • They dissect recent polling showing Congressional Democrats are viewed as not having the right priorities, even among their own base.
  • Poll Analyst Clip (14:57):
    “Congressional Dems have the right priorities...74%, nearly 3 in 4 say no. Just 25% overall say yes...the majority of Democrats or independents who lean Democrats...55% say, no, congressional Democrats do not have the right priorities...this screams primary challenges all over the map.”
  • Jennifer (15:42):
    “These establishment Democrats are operating as though they have a super high favorability, and they don’t. They simply do not.”

• Desire for Fighters, Not Preservationists:

  • Anecdote from Jennifer about red-state listeners resonating with calls for Democratic “fighters," not centrists or “fascist collaborators.”
  • Jennifer (16:39):
    “We want fighters. We don’t want people who play peekaboo with Benjamin Netanyahu. We don’t want people that can't say the sky is blue. And the equivalent of saying the sky is blue right now is saying that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. It's objectively true.”

5. The Midterms & the Stakes

• Urgency and the Need for Real Opposition:
  • Discussion of how Democrats must aggressively oppose Republican anti-democratic moves like gerrymandering and voter suppression.
  • Pumps (17:11):
    “We are going into a midterm where...they have gerrymandered. They intend...to put ice around these voting booths...if you're not filing lawsuits...if you're not coming out against us...We have to do that with clear eyes and with fighters, because the midterms are coming and they’re coming quickly.”
  • Jennifer (18:16):
    “A lot of these liberals are fascist collaborators. And scholars show us historically that liberals collaborate with fascists. Never are you able to take down fascism from a point of centrism...And the polling shows that.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cory Booker's Media Performance:
  • Pumps (02:47):
    “He’s a coward and that he is not calling him a war criminal. He’s dancing around it so that he can still backtrack on it...”
• On Democratic Leadership:
  • Jennifer (03:05):
    “I think Cory Booker is a fascist collaborator. Benjamin Netanyahu, aside from being a war criminal, is a fascist...these other Democrats are fascist collaborators.”
• On Cancel Culture:
  • Pumps (05:43):
    “I do not believe that people get better...if criticism is not shared and integrated and perspectives evolve...You know who else does, who agrees with me on that, is MAGA, because they allow for no dissent within their party.”
• On Podcast Appearances:
  • Jennifer (11:41):
    “The thing that pisses me off about the Democratic establishment is the condescending nature. They treat us like...nobody gives a if you go on Hassan stream...But do not treat us with the abject stupidity that you are going to draw the line at Hasan Piker, who has killed zero people, and then go play peekaboo patty cake with Benjamin Netanyahu, who is an objective 100% killer.”
• On Primary Challenges:
  • Poll Analyst (14:57):
    “This...screams primary challenges all over the map. And it says that even if Democrats don’t like Donald Trump, they don’t like their own party either when it comes to Congress.”
• On Being Fighters:
  • Jennifer (16:39):
    “We want fighters. We don’t want people who play peekaboo with Benjamin Netanyahu. We don’t want people that can't say the sky is blue. And the equivalent of saying the sky is blue right now is saying that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. It’s objectively true.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:05 - Why Democrats won’t call Netanyahu a war criminal
• 01:56 - Cory Booker’s Pod Save America interview clip
• 02:47 - Pumps: “He’s a coward…”
• 03:05 - Jennifer breaks down Democratic establishment problems
• 05:43 - Cancel culture and stifling criticism
• 06:41 - Booker’s reluctance to appear on progressive streams
• 08:39 - Jennifer’s firsthand experience with Booker and Khanna
• 11:23 - “Unscripted” podcast appearances are not really unscripted
• 13:14 - Rep. Ro Khanna stands by going on any show, including Hasan Piker’s
• 14:57 - Dismal polling for Congressional Democrats
• 16:39 - Red state Dems & desire for ‘fighters’
• 17:11 - Midterms, voter suppression, what’s at stake

Conclusion

This episode skewers the Democratic establishment—especially Cory Booker—for a lack of moral clarity, hypocrisy in media outreach, and being out of touch with the base’s demands for authenticity and courage. The ongoing tendency to dodge uncomfortable truths (like Israel’s war crimes) and police internal dissent underscores why base enthusiasm is lagging, and why primary challenges loom. If Democrats want to beat back the current wave of Republican extremism, Welch and Sullivan argue, they must stop “playing peekaboo with fascists,” abandon empty media strategies, and start fighting—and speaking—like the opposition party people need.