Feb 12, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Former Goldman Sachs CEO: "If I'm Russian, I go with Sanders this time around"

Fadel Allassan

Lloyd Blankfein and Bernie Sanders — Photos: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images; Michael Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times

Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein tweeted late Tuesday that Bernie Sanders should garner the support of Russia in the 2020 presidential election if it wants "to best screw up the U.S."

"If Dems go on to nominate Sanders, the Russians will have to reconsider who to work for to best screw up the US. Sanders is just as polarizing as Trump AND he’ll ruin our economy and doesn’t care about our military. If I’m Russian, I go with Sanders this time around."

Why it matters: It's a notable direct criticism of Sanders from a billionaire member of the financial industry's elite.

Proposals from the Vermont senator and fellow 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren to tax billionaires and address wealth inequality have drawn the ire of those on Wall Street.
The tweet was Blankfein's first since November — when he responded to his inclusion in a Warren ad and made an apparent reference to her struggles with the Native American community by pondering if "tribalism is just in her DNA."

The other side: "This is what panic from the Wall Street elite looks and sounds like," Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir responded.

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Former Goldman Sachs CEO: "If I'm Russian, I go with Sanders this time around"

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