Bernie Sanders Urges His Supporters to Vote for Hillary Clinton and Dodges Questions About Potential Vice Presidency

Bernie Sanders opened up to Good Morning America about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and the presidential campaign

“It is absolutely imperative for the future of this country that Donald Trump not be elected President of the United States.”

That’s what Bernie Sanders had to say about the upcoming presidential election, when appearing on Good Morning America Wednesday – a day after officially endorsing former presidential rival Hillary Clinton during a joint appearance at a campaign event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“At a time when this country has enormous crises, we do not and cannot have a man with Trump’s temperament with the nuclear code running this country,” the 74-year-old Vermont Senator declared, responding to his supporters who felt as that he had abandoned them by supporting Clinton.

When asked if he was open to being Clinton’s running mate, Sanders explained, “That issue has not been raised yet, and I doubt that that will happen.”

“Right now, what my job is to do is to make sure that Hillary Clinton is elected president, that we defeat trump, that we come up with a list of needs and an agenda that speaks to the needs of working families,” he added.

Sanders also denied the claim that his endorsement was about what GMA‘s George Stephanopoulos called “the lesser of two evils.”

“This is not a beauty contest between Trump and Hillary Clinton,” he added. “This is the fact that the middle class of this country is in trouble. Which candidate has more to say about education? More to say about health care? More to say about climate change? More to say about income and wealth and inequality? More to say about a sensible foreign policy?”

“I think the more the people hear the contrast between the two, I think Secretary Clinton’s support will grow,” Sanders continued.

He urged Clinton to get around the country and make this case that she’s the stronger candidate for the American middle class and working families. “When we start focusing on the real issues facing this country, the answer is going to be very clear,” he said.

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Comparing the two, Sanders went issue by issue. He talked about Clinton’s desire to raise the minimum wage, expand health care and make public colleges and universities tuition free for some families – while pointing out Trump’s desire to allow states to have the right to do away with the minimum wage and to end the affordable care act and throw 20 million people off health insurance.

“Trump does not even believe what the entire scientific community is telling us about climate change and the need to transform our energy sources,” he said.

Sanders also commented on Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s recent comments to CNN and New York Times, in which the 83-year-old Supreme Court Justice called Trump a “faker” and claimed that if he won the White House, her late husband would have said “Now it’s time for us to move to New Zealand.”

While Trump told The Times that “it is highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court Judge gets involved in a political campaign” and tweeted that she should resign, Sanders supported Ginsburg.

“I agree with what Ginsburg said,” Sanders stated. “I that that Trump is a total opportunist. I do not believe anything that comes out of his mouth. I think the record is quite clear that he lies just a whole lot of the time. And I think we need a president right now who is prepared to be consistent, to stand up for working families and to protect our children.”