Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CNN) After criticism following news of her Senate election fundraising practices, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told reporters after a town hall in Cedar Rapids that she "saw how this system works" and decided to quit high dollar fundraising for her 2020 presidential campaign.

"I saw how this system works. And I decided when I got in the presidential race that I wanted to do better than that," she told reporters Saturday night. "And that's why I just quit doing it. I don't sell access to my time. I don't call high dollar fundraisers. I'm out there raising money grassroots all across this country, because I want to move this in the right direction, we can't be a country that just keeps getting worse and worse."

Warren's comments come after backlash she faced when she hit South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Thursday's Democratic debate for headlining a fundraiser earlier this month in Rutherford, California, at Hall Wines.

Warren -- who rarely takes swipes at her Democratic rivals, even on the debate stage -- slammed Buttigieg for his big-donor fundraising practices. Instead of doing high-dollar fundraisers like Buttigieg, Warren has said she would not solicit wealthy donors and hold high-dollar fundraisers.

Warren, however, faced criticism after a report published Saturday revealed she held a fundraiser in June 2018 for her Senate reelection where she gave out souvenir wine bottles.

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