Sen. Elizabeth Warren called President Donald Trump an "accelerant" to a corrupt system Wednesday night in her first interview since the Massachusetts Democrat announced she is exploring a 2020 presidential run.
Warren accused Trump of pushing policy for billionaires and corporations during an interview on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show." She pushed back against Trump and the Republican Party, arguing the government works in favor of the rich and well-connected.
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Warren told Maddow that Trump is "what happens when corruption invades a system."
"Donald Trump is an accelerant," Warren said. "He takes a problem that has just been growing and growing and growing and he just sets it off. And makes it worse than it ever was."
Warren also criticized Trump for his 2017 tax cut, claiming that it gives more than a trillion dollars to billionaires and corporations. Warren called the cuts a "payoff" to donors, claiming the president is obvious in his attempts to create legislation that benefits the wealthy.
“He takes this government, and he’s been pretty damn open about it, and he says this government works for the rich," Warren said.
Warren, who announced Monday that she is establishing an exploratory committee to consider a 2020 White House bid against Trump, vowed to be a tenacious advocate for economic fairness and rebuilding the middle class.
Aides say Warren moved quickly to establish an exploratory committee in large part because she, unlike other top Democrats eyeing the race, does not have a leadership political action committee. She can transfer the $12 million that remains on hand from her 2018 re-election campaign to begin paying political advisers and laying the groundwork for a formal campaign committee, which could be launched within the next two months.