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After Tweet, Sen. Cory Booker Says He Prays For Donald Trump

PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Cory Booker on Tuesday responded to a tweet posted by Donald Trump following the New Jersey senator's Democratic convention speech, saying he prays for Trump and hopes that he finds kindness in his heart.

Trump tweeted that if Booker is the future of the Democratic party, "they have no future" and that he knows "more about Cory than he knows about himself.''

"He wants us to be speculating. It sounds so sinister,'' Booker said on CNN. "I don't care, I love you Donald. I pray for you. I hope that you find some kindness in your heart, that you're not going to be somebody that spews out insults to your political opposition, that you're going to find some way to love.''

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Booker used his speech to call for Democrats to unite around Hillary Clinton. He also took shots at Trump's business record, saying the Republican presidential candidate got rich while his Atlantic City casino companies declared multiple bankruptcies.

"I believe this election is a referendum on who best embodies the leadership we need to go far together," Booker told the convention Monday. "Donald Trump is not that leader."

Trump's daughter Ivanka has donated in the past to Booker's campaigns.

Booker said that he doesn't want to answer Trump's "hate with hate,'' and wants to "answer it with love.''

"I love you. I just don't want him to be my president,'' Booker said. "I don't want you to have the White House to be spewing that kind of mean-spirited hate that doesn't even belong in a playground sandbox.''

Booker said that he will continue attacking Trump's policies on the campaign trail for Clinton.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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