Obama has spoken up for Warren to wealthy Democratic donors

Barack Obama has spoken up for Elizabeth Warren to wealthy Democratic donors telling them that if she wins the nomination she is a ‘capable’ candidate

  • Former President Barack Obama has been vouching for Sen. Elizabeth Warren to wealthy Democrats behind-the-scenes
  • Obama doesn’t plan to endorse a candidate during the 2020 Democratic primary and has promised to campaign for the nominee in the general election
  • But since Warren has made taking on Wall Street and knocking billionaires central to her campaign, Obama is trying to put rich party members at ease 

While Sen. Elizabeth Warren has eschewed taking money from wealthy campaign donors, President Obama is networking behind-the-scenes with the Democratic party’s moneyed, vouching for the 2020 hopeful.

‘Shattered’ author Amie Parnes, writing for The Hill, explained that while Obama hasn’t endorsed Warren – nor will he endorse any Democratic hopeful during the primary – he’s made clear ‘that he deems her a capable candidate and potential president.’

‘He obviously think she’s very smart,’ one Democratic donor told Parnes. ‘He thinks her policy ideas matter. And I think he sees her running the campaign with the most depth.’

Former President Barack Obama has spoken up for Sen. Elizabeth Warren to wealthy Democrats, vouching for her in case she wins the party’s nomination 

 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is known for crusading against Wall Street and smacking rivals for taking money from wealthy donors

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is known for crusading against Wall Street and smacking rivals for taking money from wealthy donors 

Obama has been accessible to Democratic hopefuls, keeping his door open to those who want his advice. 

‘He’s asked all of the candidates who have sought his advice three questions: Is your family behind you? Why you? And why now?’ one Obama ally explained. ‘She checked the box for all.’    

‘I think he feels licensed to give an opinion on her because he’s “hired’ her,’ the source added. 

Before becoming a U.S. senator in 2013, Warren became a figure in Washington when she pushed for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

The bureau was created via the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, legislation enacted after the 2008 financial crash.  Obama signed Dodd-Frank into law in July 2010 and named Warren Assisant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury that September to get the CFPB set up. 

Warren earned the reputation of being a tough regulator – but that also meant her nomination to head the agency was more likely to be tanked by zealous Republicans, and so Obama chose never to officially nominate her to head the CFPB after its creation, choosing former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray instead. 

In September 2011, Warren announced her intentions to run for Senate, and was successful during the 2012 election cycle. She easily won re-election last year. 

As she fights for the 2020 nomination, she’s made her decision not to do closed-door fundraisers and Democratic bundlers a major theme of her campaign. 

She  chided South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg at Thursday’s Democratic debate in Los Angeles for doing the opposite, hammering him for a glitzy Napa Valley fundraiser held in a ‘wine cave.’ 

‘Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,’ Warren told the debate crowd. 

Buttigieg accurately pointed out that every single candidate onstage – including Warren and her progressive counterpart, Sen. Bernie Sanders – were millionaires or billionaires, and he was going to take advantage of all the help he could get. 

Warren also went after both Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg – the two Democratic billionaires competing in the primary – just for being billionaires, suggesting they shouldn’t be able to buy their way to the nomination.  

This talk has spooked richer members of the party – who Obama is trying to put at ease. 

But that doesn’t mean he’s officially team Warren. 

Obama remains ‘incredibly fond’ of Vice President Joe Biden, who served under him.  

And he’s vowed to work for whomever the Democratic nominee is. 

‘Look, we have a field of very accomplished, very serious and passionate and smart people who have a history of public service, and whoever emerges from the primary process I will work my tail off to make sure that they are the next president,’ the former president previously said. 

Politico stoked speculation last month, however, that Obama was no fan of Sanders, who ran against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary in 2016, and potentially weakened her. 

The publication reported that if Sanders looked to be running away with it, Obama would speak out to stop him. 

A spokesperson for the ex-president didn’t verify Politico’s reporting, instead pointing to Obama’s public comments about helping any Democratic nominee.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk