Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., got defensive in a new interview as she railed against billionaire donations in politics and was asked about Democrat Troy Jackson revealing multiple billionaire donors, as well as a large possible donation from Michael Bloomberg.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said during an interview with Warren that Bloomberg had given about $80 million to help Democrats win the midterms after noting that Elon Musk had contributed $276 million to Republicans.
Collins asked Warren, “You’re someone who has said billionaire donors should not be in politics. Given what you’ve said, do you want Michael Bloomberg’s help here?”
“Look, what I want is to get this kind of money out of politics,” Warren said. “Right now, the Republicans know that their only chance, as they see it, to be able to hang on to the House and the Senate and some of these governors’ mansions is to be able to just drown people in money, to be able to run all the ads on TV, to lie, to cheat, and that there won’t be any opportunity for Democrats to be able to respond.”
“We need to push back because, this campaign, this 2026 midterm, really is about the money or the people. Because the Democrats have got the people on their side. The Republicans have got the money, and they think if they can spend it, they can maintain control of this country, and I sure hope they’re wrong,” Warren said, arguing for a “very different” system.
Collins then raised Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson, who said during a debate against his opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that he had no billionaires funding him. However, a financial report released by the campaign earlier this month found there were at least four billionaire donors funding him, according to Fox23.
“Do you think that he needs to address that contradiction?” Collins asked Warren.
COLLINS INSISTS SOCIALIST RIVAL WON’T BEAT HER AS MAINE’S MONEY MACHINE: ‘YOU’LL LOSE BIG TIME’
“So look, really? That’s where we’re going to make the focus? So, Susan Collins has all this money coming in against her. Elon Musk has come in and put, I don’t know, what are the numbers now, how many tens of millions of dollars? And we’re going to say, ‘Oops, Troy Jackson may have gotten one of his numbers wrong. He may have gotten contributions from four billionaires,’” she responded.
She said she wanted all the billionaires out.
“I don’t think they ought to be able to control elections,” she said. “But understand this: it is the Republicans who are outspending Democrats like crazy. And it’s not Republicans who are small-dollar donors. It’s billionaires and a trillionaire who think that they can just back up dump truck loads full of money, and they will be able to buy a Senate seat in Maine.”
She went on to point a finger at President Donald Trump.
“That’s a big part of why so much is broken in this country. It’s that billionaires and insiders for Donald Trump are calling all the shots,” she said.
Jackson’s campaign did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“Elizabeth Warren and Troy Jackson are both morally bankrupt hypocrites who want power at any cost. Warren overlooked Graham Platner’s horrendous history in favor of advancing her socialist agenda, and now she’s doing the same with his knock-off replacement,” RNC spokesperson Kristen Cianci told Fox News Digital in a statement.
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Warren called on Democrats to reject billionaire donations ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 elections in January.
Warren was interviewed about her speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., at the time, where she said Democrats had to “credibly demonstrate” they could take on a “rigged system,” which might mean upsetting the wealthy. In the address, she contrasted Democrats who will take on the fight head-on and those who “politely nibble around the edges of change.”
“So, look, the Democrats need to build a bigger tent in order to win in 2026, 2028 and beyond. So the question is, how do we do that?” Warren told CNN. While she said he has not managed to follow through, she credited Trump for at least discerning that one of everyday Americans’ biggest priorities is wanting basic costs lowered.