Cory Booker Reveals Why He Shot ‘The Look’ At Beto O’Rourke During The Debate

It was the side-eye glance seen ’round the internet.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) fired off a look at rival Democratic presidential contender Beto O’Rourke when the former Texas congressman spoke Spanish during his first answer in Wednesday night’s 2020 presidential primary debate.

Did observers blow it out of proportion in an age when any quick glance can be turned into a screengrab and a meme?

Or was there a deeper meaning to it?

Turns out Booker did have something on his mind when he fired off the now-infamous look.

He told CNN’s Anderson Cooper:

“I just knew he had laid a gauntlet down and I was talking a little bit with (Julián) Castro. Both he and I knew, as people who can speak Spanish, that now we were gonna bring it as well.”

He said he didn’t quite remember what was on his mind but said he “realized that there’s a lot of bilingual people, some even trilingual, in this race, and I’m happy to have those skills.”

He made similar comments to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews:

Booker responded later in the debate with a little Spanish of his own.