Story highlights Sanders is a frequent Trump critic

He explained the tough words he has for the President

Washington (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders says he doesn't like calling President Donald Trump "delusional" -- but believes the President's actions call for it.

Sanders told CNN's Erin Burnett on "OutFront" Friday that although he is considerably more to the left than many of his fellow senators, he has never "just attacked people because their views are different than mine."

But Sanders said Trump, whom he called "a total hypocrite," put everyone in "a new era."

"I use the term 'delusional' with regard to Trump when he said there were 3 to 5 million 'illegals' who voted in the last election ... That is delusional," Sanders said. "Nobody in the world believes that is the case. There is zero evidence to back it up. But he makes that statement. So I think the word 'delusional' is correct."

.@SenSanders on what he says are "harsh terms" he's used to describe @POTUS: "This guy lies all of the time" https://t.co/gX8T7HgDE4 — OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) February 11, 2017

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read More