Bernie Sanders on presidential run: ‘If I do it, I want to do it well’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont independent, said that while he’s pondering a bid for president, the country might be reaching a “tipping point” in terms of the kinds of candidates it can put forward to run for office.

Mr. Sanders said Monday he’s now going around the country “taking on the billionaire class” — something that could winnow the crop of potential candidates.

“We may have reached a point, a tipping point, where candidates who are fighting for the working class and the middle class in this country may not be able to do it anymore because of the power of the billionaire class,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“That’s the simple reality, and I have got to ascertain if I do it, I want to do it well,” he continued. “If I do it, I know that I will need millions of people engaged in a real grassroots campaign to take on big money and to fight for an agenda, a jobs program, raising the minimum wage, pay equity for women, dealing with climate change — all of these things. And I [have] to ascertain what kind of support there is out there.”