DAVENPORT, Iowa — Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Saturday said that while some billionaires have gone on TV to cry about her wealth tax, others are making White House runs of their own.
“There are some billionaires who don’t like this,” Ms. Warren said at a campaign event here ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Monday. “Some of them go on TV and cry about how sad it would be [if] they have to pay 2 cents on the dollar above 50 million.”
“Others are running for president — think it’s cheaper [than paying] a 2-cent wealth tax,” she said.
Ms. Warren didn’t mention former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg by name, but she’s targeted Mr. Bloomberg in the past amid a campaign theme of overhauling an economy and a political system she says is rigged for the wealthy and corporations.
She has proposed an annual “wealth tax” of 2% on assets of more than $50 million, with an additional levy on wealth of more than $1 billion.
Tom Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, is also vying for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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Ms. Warren rallied here before a crowd of about 450 people as she tries to muster momentum ahead of the Monday caucuses.
“I’m not running a campaign that has a bunch of proposals … carefully designed not to offend big-dollar donors — I passed that stop sign a long time ago,” she said. “I am running a campaign based on a lifetime of fighting for working families.”
Former housing secretary Julián Castro, who ended his own presidential bid last month and endorsed Ms. Warren, helped introduce her at the event.
“I’m here tonight because I believe that Elizabeth Warren is the best woman for the job,” Mr. Castro said.
Ms. Warren is under the gun to put up a good showing on Monday. She had flirted with front-runner status last year, but slipped back from the front of the pack amid questions over her “Medicare for All” health care plan.
Kathy Hill, a 50-year-old federal employee from Eldridge, said she was undecided ahead of Monday but that Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Ms. Warren were her top two at the moment.
“I like the way they conduct themselves as senators, and I think they’re both very intelligent, well-spoken,” Ms. Hill said. “I like the ideas that they have and most importantly, I feel that they both have the ability to work with people and compromise to come up with at least part of their agenda.”
Ms. Hill did express concern about a “Bernie or Bust” contingent messing things up.
“Honestly, I don’t care for the Bernie or Bust crowd,” she said. “I think the most important thing is we need to get somebody sane in the White House, and I don’t want Bernie to be a spoiler like I feel he was last time.”
Ms. Warren and Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, who are both vying for support from the far-left contingent of the Democratic Party, had something of an unofficial non-aggression pact for some time in the race.
But the public niceties were strained last month amid reports that Mr. Sanders told Ms. Warren in a private meeting in 2018 that he didn’t think a woman could get elected president in 2020.
Mr. Sanders repeatedly denied he ever said such a thing. He reiterated that line in last month’s debate, prompting Ms. Warren to tell him afterward she thought he called her a “liar” on national TV.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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