Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said his potential support for Hillary Clinton is "totally dependent" on how progressive she is during an interview Sunday on ABC's This Week. .
"If the contest doesn't go the way you hope, will you be able to follow the Clinton model of 2008, which she talked about on the GMA town hall this week, and make an enthusiastic case for her the way she pushed for President Obama?" host George Stephanopoulos asked in the clip flagged by the Washington Post.
"Well, that is totally dependent on what the Clinton platform is and how she responds to the needs of millions of Americans who are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment economics," Sanders said. "You know, I can't snap my finger and tell people what to do.
"What I will do is do everything that I can to make sure that somebody like a Donald Trump, or some other right-wing Republican does not become President of the United States. We do not need more tax breaks for billionaires, more cuts to Social Security, Medicare or ignoring the fact, Republicans don't even accept the reality of climate change, let alone being prepared to do something about it. So I will do everything that I can to defeat any Republican candidate.
"If Secretary Clinton is the nominee, she is going to have to make the case to the American people, not just to my supporters, but all Americans, that she is prepared to stand up to the billionaire class, she is prepared to fight for health care for all Americans, that she is prepared to pass paid family and medical leave, make sure that college is affordable for the young people in this country. That is what she has got to do and I hope, if she is the nominee, that she does that well."