In an interview with SiriusXM’s “The Bill Carter Interview” set to air Monday, the host of CNN’s Tuesday Democratic presidential debate Anderson Cooper said he goes out of his way not to befriend presidential candidates.

“After it was over, did you have interactions with the debaters?” asked host Bill Carter.

“No, I don’t want to talk with these people,” Cooper said. “Honestly, I’m not friends with these people. I don’t want to be friends with these people. It’s not my job.”

“I don’t want to know these people,” he repeated. “I just don’t feel it’s my job. I don’t want in any way to be impacted by — I don’t want anyone to think that I’m schmoozing with them. I don’t want people to think that I’m for one or the other.”

Cooper also attacked conservative magazine The Weekly Standard for implying he was pulling for Hillary Clinton. “The Weekly Standard put out a story the day of the debate saying I was a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, which is such bunk,” he said, while admitting he moderated a CGI panel following Hurricane Katrina.

Listen above, via SiriusXM.

[Image via SiriusXM]
——
>>Follow Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) on Twitter