Republican strategist Lauren Claffey said Wednesday that Wall Street and others have become fearful about the possibility of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) becoming president because she’s built a reputation on taking on big banks.
“What scares them about Warren is she’s a known entity at this point because she’s been a thorn in their side in the Senate,” Claffey, told Hill.TV referring to CNBC host Jim Cramer’s recent comments on Warren.
“She’s changed the conversation for big banks in a large way and that’s what makes them scared,” she added.
Claffey’s comments come after Cramer expressed concern about the possibility of Warren becoming president and what that impact would mean for Wall Street, citing Warren’s recent momentum in the polls.
“When you get off the desk and you talk to executives, they’re more fearful of her winning,” Cramer told his fellow CNBC hosts on Tuesday, before adding “she’s got to be stopped.”
Cramer also predicted that Warren would win Iowa, calling her a “very compelling figure on the stump.”
CNBC anchor David Faber chimed in saying banks are already trying to be proactive about such a possibility of a Warren presidency.
“It’s why companies are being implored to do things now,” he said. “If you want to get something done…think about doing it soon because come early-to-mid-2020 if Elizabeth Warren is rolling along, everybody’s going to be like ‘that’s it.’”
Warren, who has long been a critic of big banks, later seized on Cramer’s comments.
“I’m Elizabeth Warren and I approve this message,” Warren tweeted in response to the clip.
Warren has been gaining ground on her fellow Democratic White House contenders former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Though Biden and Sanders still maintain the top spots, a new poll from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist shows Warren with the highest favorability mark at 75 percent among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.
The progressive Massachusetts senator is also poised to take part in the third Democratic presidential debate on Thursday.
—Tess Bonn
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