Warren: Bloomberg is betting he ‘only needs bags and bags of money’ to win election

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) went after newly announced presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg at her campaign event in Iowa on Monday, accusing the former New York City mayor of using his money to influence the election.

Warren criticized the billionaire for announcing his candidacy Sunday along with a $37 million television ad campaign while at her campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, calling it “fundamentally wrong,” NBC News reported.

“Michael Bloomberg is making a bet about democracy in 2020,” she said. “He doesn’t need people. He only needs bags and bags of money. I think Michael Bloomberg is wrong, and that’s what we need to prove in this election” 

The Massachusetts senator has confronted the wealthy throughout her campaign, including proposing a tax on billionaires. She told her audience in Iowa that the 2020 election will determine how money and democracy interact in the future.

“If Michael Bloomberg’s version of democracy wins, then democracy changes,” she said. “And it’s going to be about which billionaire you can stomach going forward.”

The former mayor has addressed concerns about his wealth by saying he will self-fund his campaign and refuse donations.

Bloomberg stood up for his use of his resources in response to Warren at his first campaign event Monday, saying, “For years I’ve been using my resources for the things that matter to me,” according to a transcript from his campaign.

“I am going to make my case and let the voters who are plenty smart make their choice,” he added.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), another progressive presidential candidate, has already condemned Bloomberg for entering the race, saying billionaires like him are “not going to get very far in this election.”