Making good and bad political trouble

New Jersey representative Cory Booker’s epic 25 hour speech on the floor of the United States Senate last week may come to be seen as a turning point in the resistance of Americans to the Donald Trump regime.

It coincided with a historic triumph of democracy over chequebook dictatorship in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, in which Elon Musk had spent $20 million in an effort to get the opposite result, and helped ignite more than 1,600 peaceful ‘Hands Off’ protests involving an estimated 5.2 million people across the United States on the weekend.

Senator Booker’s speech began and ended with references to his hero and mentor, the late congressman John Lewis, a contemporary of Martin Luther King, who literally put his body on the line for the civil rights movement, being repeatedly beaten for his beliefs, most famously during the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

‘He was called the bravest man in the civil rights movement because he kept putting himself in harm’s way… to bring attention to the injustices in this world,’ said Senator Booker.

‘He said, “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble. Help redeem the soul of America”. I’ve been thinking about him a lot during these last 71 days, and had to ask myself, if he’s my hero, how am I living up to his words?’

The answer unfolded over the following 25 hours.

Record-breaking speech

Far from a typical filibuster, designed simply to waste time, Cory Booker’s extraordinary physical and mental achievement was to stand up and talk sense for all of that time, systematically explaining why the actions of the second Trump presidency were disastrous for ordinary Americans and the world.

Sharing more than 200 stories from his constituents and others, he spoke about the government’s violations of the Constitution, recent national security breaches, illegal deportations, the destruction of environmental protections, the worsening housing situation, and the effects of deep cuts to education, medical research and farmers’ contracts.

Booker also spoke directly to his political opponents, striving for common ground as he reminded them of what had been achieved with bipartisanship in the past.

He spoke in very personal terms about what the government’s assault on social security and the health safety net would mean for those with ageing parents, or disabilities. He acknowledged that his own party had made mistakes, but kept coming back to the power of the people to exert change, emphasising that what was happening went way beyond politics as usual, and required an equally unprecedented response.

‘These are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such,’ he said. ‘This is our moral moment. This is when the most precious ideas of our country are being tested… Where does the Constitution live, on paper or in our hearts?’

After the speech, it was revealed Senator Booker had avoided needing toilet breaks by barely eating or drinking in previous days, making it even harder to stand and speak coherently for so long. As the hours passed, the number of people watching via C-Span and streaming services steadily rose.

While most Republicans weren’t even in the chamber, Booker was supported by an increasing number of his Democrat colleagues, who returned to the Senate and asked public questions as it became clear what was unfolding.

Senator Booker wore an Israeli hostage solidarity pin while he was making his speech, and didn’t manage to find time in the entire 25 hours to mention the ongoing genocide in Gaza, or to say anything about the pro-Palestinian students being deported by Trump from American campuses.

Still, history will record that he eclipsed the record for the longest individual speech ever delivered on the floor of the US Senate, previously held by Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes in an effort to stop African-Americans gaining their civil rights in 1957.

350 million likes were recorded on the TikTok livestream of Booker’s speech, which also gained massive numbers of views on other platforms, suggesting that people in 2025 do have an attention span longer than 10 seconds, when words are spoken from the heart.

Senator Cory Booker’s speech can be viewed in full here. If you don’t have a spare night and day, you can fast forward and listen to the last two hours.

Is there an election on?

Back in Australia, new ANU research has confirmed that we are much less politically polarised than our US counterparts, but also increasingly disengaged, and worried about the future.

On the election trail this week there were no moments of grand rhetoric, or vision, just the usual grim struggle to avoid doing anything that might lead to defeat. The right wing press seized on a stumble off the back of a podium by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

From Peter Dutton there was a Trump-style attack on foreign students, along with a backflip on his working-from-home policy and the disendorsement of a candidate after his toxic views became public. The Coalition appear to have finally realised that women vote in Australia.

Neither Australian leader responded in any meaningful way to Trump’s latest declaration of trade war against his allies, including Australia. Norfolk Island is on the list for some reason, along with a long list of other places, while Russia is mysteriously unaffected.

As a result, trillions of dollars have been wiped off the US stock market, with similarly disastrous falls in Australia and elsewhere. Superannuation investments and the Future Fund have been hit hard locally, and a global recession or worse looks increasingly likely, regardless of which party gets elected in Australia in May.

With friends like Donald Trump’s USA, who needs enemies?

Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.