Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) on Sunday claimed former Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and Pete Buttigieg were ousted by the party establishment to boost Joe Biden in the Super Tuesday primaries.
"One of the things that I was kind of not surprised by is the power of the establishment to force Amy Klobuchar, who worked so hard, Pete Buttigieg, who you know really worked extremely hard as well, out of the race," Sanders said during an interview with ABC's This Week.
"What was very clear from the media narrative, and what the establishment wanted, was to make sure that people coalesced around Biden and tried to defeat me," Sanders said. "So that's not surprising."
Both Buttigieg and Klobuchar dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Biden the day before Super Tuesday.
Biden's first-place finishes in 10 Super Tuesday states marked a major comeback for the former vice president, who failed to win a contest before the South Carolina primary.
Sanders's progressive agenda, including Medicare for All and raising taxes for the middle class, has marginalized his ability to gather broad Democratic and establishment support.