Newark Mayor Cory Booker Responds to 'Meet the Press' Controversy on 'Tonight Show' (Video)

7:00 AM PDT 6/19/2012 by Erin Carlson

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The New Jersey Democrat says President Obama was "the first person to step forward and say 'hey, you're my friend, we all say things that don’t come out as we mean them, and I'm still with you.'"

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Cory Booker says he and President Obama remain on good terms after he blasted campaign tactics against Mitt Romney on NBC's Meet the Press.

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In an appearance on Monday's edition of The Tonight Show, Booker told Jay Leno that Obama is a "good person" who was also the "first person to step forward and say 'hey, you're my friend, we all say things that don’t come out as we mean them, and I'm still with you.'"

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The Newark, N.J., mayor drew criticism from the Obama campaign and its supporters following his May 21 Meet the Press appearance, where he complained about negative campaigning on both sides, condemning the president's attack ads on Romney's career at Bain Capital as "nauseating."

Republicans immediately pounced on Booker's comments, and the mayor responded with a video on YouTube in which he said it was fair for Obama to single out Romney's private-equity past.

On the Tonight Show, Booker -- a surrogate for Obama during the 2012 presidential election -- said "the reaction after the show, to be really 100 percent sincere, my biggest concern was my President."

He also spoke about heroically rescuing a woman from a fire, and co-starring with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in an amusing web video sending up their competitive rivalry.

Watch the Leno clip below.