Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that she did not think any Democrat vying for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination should be self-funded or funded by billionaires in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night.
Warren announced on Monday that she is forming an exploratory committee to determine whether or not she will officially run for president in 2020. (RELATED: Elizabeth Warren Drinks Beer, Cooks On Instagram Live)
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“How do you fit in with the Democratic Party Where do you see your party right now?” Maddow asked.
Warren responded, “This is going to be the fish or cut bait year for the Democrats. And it’s going to be how do we think government should work and who do we think government should work for?”
She added:
Is this going to be a Democratic primary that truly is a grassroots movement that is funded by the grassroots — that’s done with grassroots volunteers? Or is this going to be something that’s just one more play thing — that billionaires can buy? So, I think this is a moment for all of the democratic nominees, as they come into the race, to say, in a Democratic primary, ‘We are going to link arms, and we’re going to say grassroots funding. No to the billionaires. No to the billionaires, whether they are self-funding or whether they’re funding pacts.'”
“When you talk about billionaires and the Democratic primary, Tom Steyer is considering running. Michael Bloomberg is apparently considering running. Do you mean specifically anybody that is a billionaire should be precluded from running?” Maddow followed up.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) addresses a town hall meeting in Roxbury, Massachusetts, October 13, 2018. (Photo by Joseph PREZIOSO / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP/Getty Images)
The Massachusetts senator answered, “Of course not. I just mean people should not be self-funding. And they should not be funded from pacts from other billionaires. That a primary is an opportunity to hear from the grassroots — to see what you can build.”