AOC says she would not accept donations from Michael Bloomberg, even if she runs for president

“For me, one thing is that I don’t need it,” she said of campaign donations from Bloomberg. “I’ve worked really, really hard to be financially independent of wealthy people in our — in how I run for office. And so, it’s not money that I would take because I don’t, A) I don’t need it and B) I don’t think that it’s worth the …”

“The optics of, he donated all this money, so he has some influence in her,” one of the radio show’s hosts completed her sentence.

“More the optics, but the power,” the freshman congresswoman said. “Like, it’s not just — I mean, people say all the time ‘Oh, I can take this check it doesn’t influence me.’ It does. It does. Subconsciously or consciously, it absolutely does.”

“The year is 2025. AOC is 35 years old, eligible to run for president, and Bloomberg’s like, ‘Here’s a billion dollars, AOC, rock out,'” Charlamange offered a hypothetical scenario.

“No,” Ocasio-Cortez simply retorted.

Her comments differ from those of Bernie Sanders, who recently refused to answer whether or not he would take money from Bloomberg if he wins the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The Vermont senator did say, however, that he would “have enough money to defeat Donald Trump” without assistance.

[Read more: Hillary Clinton says she would support Bernie Sanders]

Bloomberg’s campaign manager promised this week that the former New York City mayor would “spend Trump out of office.” The presidential nominee has said he would be willing to spend money on Sanders if he wins the 2020 Democratic nomination.