Booker to Biden on Obama: ‘You can’t have it both ways’

White House hopeful Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said former Vice President Joe Biden “can’t have it both ways” when discussing former President Obama when he declined to discuss conversations the two had over immigrant deportations. 

“Mr. Vice President, you can’t have it both ways,” Booker said at Wednesday night’s primary debate in Detroit. “You invoke President Obama more than anybody in this campaign. You can’t do it when it’s convenient and then dodge it when it’s not.”

Cory Booker: “Mr. Vice President, you can’t have it both ways. You invoke President Obama more than anybody in this campaign. You can’t do it when it’s convenient and then dodge it when it’s not” #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/CyfWa6g16c

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 1, 2019

{mosads}Booker’s remark came in response to an exchange between Biden and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in which the former vice president was repeatedly pressed if he thought the 3 million deportations under the Obama administration were a good idea.

Biden maintained that he would not dish on the conversations he had with Obama since they were private, only saying that the former president “moved to fundamentally change the system” but that “much more has to be done.”

The former vice president has made an early effort to promote his ties to Obama, who remains popular among the Democratic Party base, repeatedly noting accomplishments made during the “Obama-Biden administration.”

Booker continued slamming Biden, saying his proposal to allow immigrants with Ph.D.’s should get a seven-year green card plays into Republicans’ hands.

“This really irks me, because I heard the vice president say that if you’ve got a Ph.D. you can come right into this country, well that’s playing into what the Republicans want, to pit some immigrants against other immigrants, some are from shithole countries, and some are from worthy countries,” he said referencing a profane comment President Trump made referring to Haiti and some African countries.

Booker was expected to hit Biden, the primary field’s front-runner, as the New Jersey Democrat sees his support in polls beginning to consistently lag behind that of several other candidates.