AP Photo Bernie Sanders: I'm not anything like Trump

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday strongly rejected comparisons between his campaign and that of Republican candidate Donald Trump.

"No, I don't accept that for one moment," the Democratic presidential candidate told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. "We are not engaged here in demagoguery. We're not engaged here in racist attacks, outrageous attacks against Mexicans. What we are trying to do is talk about the reality facing the American people."


Instead, Sanders said his campaign is focusing on communicating "the reality facing the American people," on issues like unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, trade, raising the minimum wage and others.

Responding to the notion that a democratic socialist could not win in a general election, Sanders said he would point to the polls that have him performing well against Republican candidates despite low name recognition. Programs that he is proposing, Sanders remarked, already exist and work well in countries like Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

"The more we get those ideas out, the more I think comfortable they will be with the views that we're espousing," he said.

Sanders chalked up Trump's surge to his strong personality, not his policy proposals.

"Donald Trump is a very strong TV personality. He's very good at what he does," Sanders continued. "He's funny, he's articulate, but I think at the end of the day, when people focus on the kinds of programs we need, the fact that we need a mass political movement -- we don't need one person at the top. We need millions of people, young people, working people, seniors, coming together to reclaim our government."