Joe Biden came out swinging against rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during a ritzy fundraiser in Palo Alto, California.
“You’ve got to share in the benefits. That’s been broken. You don’t need some radical, radical socialist kind of answer to any of this — you’ve just got to make capitalism work like it’s supposed to work,” Biden said at a five-star Greek restaurant Thursday afternoon. “We’ve got to save capitalism from this guy.”
The event was hosted by Bay Area real estate broker and Democratic megadonor George Marcus; Denise Bauer, a former ambassador to Belgium under President Barack Obama; and tech entrepreneur Jon Fisher.
Attendees paid either $1,500 or $2,800 to attend the lunch, with some raising over $10,000, which earned them a VIP reception with the former vice president.
Biden’s comments about rising support for socialism within the Democratic Party echo those he made back in July at a public campaign stop.
“This is not a hit on Bernie,” Biden said in Las Vegas, Nevada. “But this is not a generation of socialists.”
“The vast majority, they want rational policy,” Biden added. “I don’t think they’re looking for a radicalization of who we are and what we do.”
During the third round of Democratic debates last month, Biden tied Warren to Sanders, saying, “She’s for Bernie; well, I’m for Barack.”
In the last several months, Warren has been steadily gaining on Biden in both early primary and national polls. A survey released last month showed Warren earning 22% support among likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers to Biden’s 20%.
