Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) ribbed Newark, N.J Mayor Cory Booker (D) Wednesday in an interview with Politico over the New Jersey Democrat’s colorful stump speeches about a drug lord named “T-Bone.”
Paul is scheduled to campaign Friday for Booker’s Republican opponent in the New Jersey Senate race, Steve Lonegan. He criticized the Newark mayor as a politician with “an imaginary friend with imaginary problems” in the Politico interview.
Booker has often told stories about “T-Bone,” the Newark drug dealer he said he befriended, but a recent National Review article raised doubts about the existence of the man. That publication announced Wednesday it would sue Booker and the city of Newark for public records related to another of the mayor’s oft-repeated stories about a murder victim who died in his arms.
“If Cory will introduce me to T-Bone when I get there, I’d love to meet T-Bone. If T-Bone’s not real, maybe we need to get Mr. Booker to talk about real problems,” Paul told Politico.