Warren Buffett: Elizabeth Warren would do better if she was ‘less angry and demonizing’

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat and a fierce critic of Wall Street, would be better off if she was “less angry and demonizing.”

“I think that she would do better if she was less angry and demonizing. I believe in ’hate the sin and love the sinner,’ ” the Berkshire Hathaway CEO said Monday on CNBC. “And I also believe in praising by name and criticizing by category. And I’m not sure that I’ve totally convinced Elizabeth Warren that that’s the way to go.”

Ms. Warren has been cheered on by liberal activists for a populist, anti-Wall Street stance that stretches back at least to her role in helping set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse.

“Don’t pick her out — there’s plenty of other candidates that their styles are not 100 percent my style, but I do think it’s a mistake to get angry with people that disagree with you,” Mr. Buffett said. “In the end, we do have to work together.”

First elected to the Senate in 2012, Ms. Warren has emerged as a leading liberal voice on Capitol Hill and has consistently rejected calls for her to enter the 2016 presidential race as an alternative to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Mr. Buffett, a supporter of both Mrs. Clinton and President Obama, nevertheless said he is not a “card-carrying” Democrat.

“I think the whole nature of governing — particularly when you’ve got a divided government like we have now — is that you end up with bills that each side doesn’t like but they like it better than doing nothing,” he said. “I mean, that’s the way government has to function. And it does not help when you demonize or get too violent with the people you’re talking to.”