Sanders: Will Media Force Me to Attack Hillary Before Listening to My Ideas?

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is Hillary Clinton’s first formal opponent for the 2016 Democratic nomination, and as the David going up against the Goliath, he’s getting lots of questions about the size of his slingshot. And he’s sounding pretty tired of it.

“I like Hillary Clinton, I respect Hillary Clinton,” Sanders told CNN’s State of the Union. “Will the media, among others, allow us to have a civil debate on civil issues, or is the only way to get media attention to rip somebody apart?” (Almost literally the next question was about George Stephanopoulos, so apparently the latter.)

RELATED: Stephanopoulos to Bernie Sanders: Is Hillary ‘Part of the Billionaire Class?’

Host Brianna Keilar pressed Sanders on whether he would able to throw the “sharp elbows” necessary to defeat Clinton. He said “yes, but.”

“The American people want to hear serious discussions about why they are working longer hours for lower wages, they want to know why year after year we have disastrous trade agreements, why the rich gets richer and everybody else gets poorer,” Sanders said. “Are you in the media prepared to allow us to engage in that serious debate, or do I have to get media attention on making reckless attacks on Hillary Clinton? I don’t believe in that.”

Watch the clip below, via CNN:

[Image via screengrab]

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