Attacks against former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg began when Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) mentioned Buttigieg holding "wine cave" fundraisers with wealthy donors. The attack continued when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reminded folks during Friday night's Democratic debate that Buttigieg was taking money from rich people.
CNN's Jake Tapper asked Buttigieg about the issue on Sunday Morning during a segment on "State of the Union."
"Your opponent, Bernie Sanders, has unleashed a new attack on you, launching the hashtag #PetesBillionaires," Tapper explained. He played a clip from Friday night's debate of Sanders saying. "I don't have 40 billionaires, Pete, contributing to my campaign."
Tapper wanted to know Buttigieg's response to the claim.
"Well, Bernie's pretty rich and I'd happily accept a contribution from him," Buttigieg replied. "Look, this is about making sure we bring everybody into the fight at a moment when we're going to be going up against Donald Trump, who, with his allies, are raising – I think the other day they raised $25 million in one day. This is the fight of our lives."
Buttigieg made it clear he doesn't favor the current election finance system but "I'm also insistent that we go into this with all of the support we can get." He said his campaign has been successful because hundreds of thousands of people have donated.
"In I think 2 million-plus contributions the average under $40," he explained. "I'm the mayor of South Bend. It's not like that's an established fundraising powerhouse."
Sen. Bernie Sanders has launched attacks on Pete Buttigieg for taking campaign contributions from wealthy people. Buttigieg's response: "Bernie's pretty rich." pic.twitter.com/FfvlQg9iFO
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 9, 2020