Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Thursday that she is “troubled” by reports that former President Barack Obama agreed to speak for $400,000 at a conference run by an investment bank.
“I was troubled by that,” Warren said on SiriusXM show Alter Family Politics. “The influence of dollars on this place is what scares me. I think it ultimately threatens democracy.”
Fox Business reported Monday that Obama agreed to speak at an annual health care conference run by Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. for a fee of $400,000. The Financial Times confirmed on Tuesday, citing an unnamed source familiar with the arrangement, that Obama agreed to give a keynote speech at the conference.
“These kinds of objections were raised about President Obama when he was running for office and he got a lot of support from people on Wall Street for his first campaign in 2008,” Obama’s former press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday morning on MSNBC, where he is a contributor. “But that didn’t in any way limit his ability to put in place the toughest reforms of Wall Street that we had seen in multiple generations.”
“I’ll translate,” Politico and Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei said. “They offered him $400,000, he’s taking it.”
“Capitalism,” Earnest said with a smile.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” anchor Stephanie Ruhle added.
???wtf
I’m troubled as well. I have to do at least 2 speaking engagements to clear that much.
For balance, I think the banks should offer Sanders the opportunity to speak, paying him $400 dollars so as to avoid the appearance of corruption.
I’m troubled by the countless ways Elizabeth Warren benefits from capitalist white supremacy. I demand she immediately give up everything it’s given her, and refrain from ever benefiting from it again.
She probably could have gone all week without saying that. Was there really nothing in what current elected officials are doing that was worth noting?