On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) stated that billionaires have too much of a role in politics and specifically cited Elon Musk while saying Democrats have their own issues but also said he hasn’t thought through whether he won’t accept any independent donations from billionaires “because I’m not in a position to be able to make a judgment about that.”
After playing video of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticizing the influence of billionaires in politics, host Kaitlan Collins asked, “When you ran for president, you had billionaires who backed your 2020 run. What would you say to that message, that he’s saying it’s not just Republicans, it’s Democrats too?”
Bennet answered, “I agree with what Bernie’s saying. I think Donald Trump ran for election saying, of course, I’m corrupt, but I’m not as corrupt as the Democrats and the Republicans. And he found a way to win the presidency. And part of that is the way the campaign finance system is shot through with corruption. I completely agree with him. The idea that Elon Musk can go to Wisconsin and spend $20 million, which, to Elon Musk, is the cost of a McDonald’s hamburger, one hamburger or he can spend $250 million in Donald Trump’s election, which is the cost of a steak dinner to a teacher in Colorado. Those teachers in Colorado, if they knew they could control the outcome of the fate of our country, as hard as it would be to pay for those three steaks, they probably would do it. And I’m using Elon Musk as an example, but we’ve got problems on the Democratic side as well. And this is one of those instances, Kaitlan, where I think we need to think very hard about how to overcome Citizens United. We may need a constitutional amendment to deal with it, and other generations of Americans have amended the Constitution to get women the right to vote. They haven’t said it’s impossible.”
Collins then asked, “You would not accept donations from billionaires going forward, is that what you’re saying?”
Bennet responded, “Well, I don’t — I have — I’m one of the very few members of the Senate who does not accept corporate PAC money, for example. I don’t accept — I don’t — so I’m not — I — if you’re asking about independent expenditures of billionaires, I haven’t thought that through because I’m not in a position to be able to make a judgment about that. I’m not sure — I’m missing your — misunderstanding your question, I think.”
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