Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took direct shots at Pete Buttigieg (D) over support from the ultra-wealthy, dubbing the former mayor’s wealthy donors as “PetesBillionaires” hours before the candidates are set to share the debate stage in New Hampshire.
“This election is fundamentally about whose side you are on. #PetesBillionaires,” Sanders wrote alongside headlines from a collection of news outlets indicating the former South Bend mayor’s connection to wealthy donors.
“Buttigieg Has Most Exclusive Billionaire Donors of Any Democrat,” a Forbes headline read.
“Pete Buttigieg Tops Billionaire Donor List,” the Hill stated.
“The Finance 2020: Pete Buttigieg lures even closer look from Wall Street donors following strong Iowa caucuses performance,” a headline from the Washington Post read:
This election is fundamentally about whose side you are on. #PetesBillionaires pic.twitter.com/hZi3uzCmvJ
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 7, 2020
This is not the first time one of Buttigieg’s rivals has targeted his support from ultra-wealthy donors. In December, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) attacked Buttigieg’s Napa Valley fundraiser, which took place in a wine cave featuring crystal stemware and $900 bottles of wine.
“We made the decision many years ago that rich people in smoked filled rooms would not pick the next president of the United States, billionaires in wine caves should not pick the president of the United States,” Warren said during the Politico/PBS Democrat debate in December.
Buttigieg hit back, noting Warren’s status as a millionaire herself.
As Breitbart News detailed:
“This is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass,” Buttigieg said, earning a strong reaction from the crowd.
He argued that if he refused to meet with millionaires and billionaires, he could not be on the debate stage with the rest of the Democrat field.
Buttigieg said that Warren’s net worth was “100 times” that of his own, and said that if she ever donated to his campaign he would be glad to have the support.
“We need the support of everybody who is committed to defeat Donald Trump,” Buttigieg replied.
Warren replied that she did not “sell access to her time” and did not host closed-door fundraisers with billionaires, and added that she would not offer ambassador spots to her donors.
“If you cannot stand up to the wealthy and well connected when you are a candidate then how can the American people believe that you’re going to stand up to the wealthy and the well connected when you are president and it’s really hard,” Warren said.
Buttigieg argued that Warren had transferred funding from wealthy donors into her campaign coffers.
“Did it corrupt you, Senator? Of course not,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg has maintained his position, telling a student activist in December that he does not consider taking donations from billionaires as “big money in politics.”
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