Nina Turner, a top surrogate for socialist Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, told MSNBC on Monday that Bloomberg was an “oligarch” and a “stain” on America.
“I want to ask you about this money thing because under the constitutional ruling, a guy or woman who has all the money in the world and can spend all that money — I bet Mike Bloomberg makes enough on a daily basis to finance this campaign,” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said. “How do you beat him?”
“Well, he’s doing that, Chris, already,” Turner responded. “And we should not — we should be ashamed of that as Americans. People who believe in democracy, that the oligarchs, if you have more money you can buy your way.”
“Do you think Mike Bloomberg is an oligarch?” Matthews asked.
“He is,” Turner responded. “He skipped Iowa. Iowans should be insulted. Not going to New Hampshire. Buying his way into this race period. The DNC changed the rules. They didn’t change it for Senator Harris. They wouldn’t change it for Senator Booker. They didn’t change it for Secretary Castro.”
“Did he buy his way into the debates?” Matthews asked.
“He absolutely did,” Turner responded. “It’s a stain on democracy.”
WATCH:
Transcript of the video clip:
MATTHEWS: What I like about the California thing is I always think — excuse me, everybody here — We should start in California. The weather is really nice. There’s a lot of diversity out there. Huge population. I used to call it the Rose Bowl primary. Let’s go there, but we’re not. That’s not the real world. If your candidate gets in there, to me he is historically the perfect candidate of the California party. The California party is fairly left, it’s a progressive party. Way back to Stevenson, a tough party for the senator. Then you have a guy who can buy media in an L.A. market, which is the biggest market. Not the — if not the second biggest market. Jerry Brown, the governor out there, once told me you you can buy your votes up, you can just keep buying and buying and buying and the numbers do go up to a point. So that’s to me the battle: money versus ideology.
TURNER: Or get the Democratic Party to change its rules for you because you are buying off the party, as well.
MATTHEWS: What would the rule be under the Constitution?
TURNER: Get him on the stage.
MATTHEWS: I want to ask you about this money thing because under the constitutional ruling, a guy or woman who has all the money in the world and can spend all that money — I bet Mike Bloomberg makes enough on a daily basis to finance this campaign. How do you beat him?
TURNER: Well, he’s doing that, Chris, already. And we should not — we should be ashamed of that as Americans. People who believe in democracy, that the oligarchs, if you have more money you can buy your way. To your point —
MATTHEWS: Do you think Mike Bloomberg is an oligarch?
TURNER: He is. He skipped Iowa. Iowans should be insulted. Not going to New Hampshire. Buying his way into this race period. The DNC changed the rules. They didn’t change it for Senator Harris. They wouldn’t change it for Senator Booker. They didn’t change it for Secretary Castro.
MATTHEWS: Did he buy his way into the debates?
TURNER: He absolutely did. It’s a stain on democracy. Back to your point, money can buy you —