Cory Booker tore into Joe Biden's record on criminal justice reform at the Democratic primary debate, saying that Biden is 'dipping into the kool-aid and doesn't even know the flavor'

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Cory Booker tore into Joe Biden's record on criminal justice reform at the Democratic primary debate, saying that Biden is 'dipping into the kool-aid and doesn't even know the flavor'

Cory Booker and Joe Biden

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Sen. Cory Booker tore into former Vice President Joe Biden's record on criminal justice refrom at the Democratic primary debate on Wednesday, telling Biden that he's "dipping into the kool-aid and he doesn't know the flavor."

The exchange centered around Biden's key role in passing the 1994 crime bill, which increased the incarceration rates of black Americans.

It started when Biden expressed his views on criminal justice, which he said focused on rehabilitating people instead of sending them to prison.

Read more: Joe Biden's dicey past on racial issues could come back to bite him in the 2020 Democratic primaries

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Booker followed up with a lengthy criticism of the former vice president.

"My response is this is a crisis in our country because we have treated issues of race and poverty and addiction by locking people up and not lifting them up. Since the 1970s, every crime bill, major and minor, has had his name on it," Booker said of Biden. "And those are your words, not mine."

Biden then took aim at Booker's record of being the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, criticizing him for engaging in stop and frisk practices that have been found to disproportionately target people of color.

Booker responded that Biden was distorting his record, saying he was "dipping into the kool-aid and you don't even know the flavor."

The two candidates had previously sparred over Biden fondly recalling his past work with two segregationist senators.

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