President Barack Obama says Bernie Sanders is no Barack Obama.

Barack Obama circa 2008, that is. In an interview with Politico, Obama said the rise of the Vermont senator in this year’s presidential election did not remind him of himself in the 2008 campaign. Obama did say that “what [Sanders is] doing is working,” but was kinder to Sanders’ Democratic-primary rival Hillary Clinton in the interview. Obama, who faced Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary, called his former secretary of state “wicked smart.” And in response to a question about Sanders, Obama said as president, “you don’t have the luxury of just focusing on one thing.”

The self-proclaimed Trump effect: Donald Trump says he’s the best thing that ever happened to Bernie Sanders, who’s competing against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. “My attack on Hillary — all of a sudden she went down, and Sanders got all the credit for it, right?” Trump, a Republican, said Sunday at a rally in Muscatine, Iowa, according to the Hill. “And then they started saying, ‘Bernie Sanders is surging, an amazing thing happened.’ I did it,” Trump said, “I’m saying I did that.” Sanders has made significant gains in polls against Clinton ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1. He took a one-point edge over her in Iowa in a CBS News poll released Sunday, and also holds a lead over her in New Hampshire. New Hampshire’s primary is Feb. 9.

Also read:When is my state’s primary?

Sanders on Bloomberg:Sanders greeted news of a potential independent presidential run by Michael Bloomberg by saying the wealthy are too “controlling” of American politics. And Sanders said a possible run by the former New York City mayor would make for a “contest between billionaires,” with Trump. Fox News has more on reactions to news that Bloomberg is considering a bid, including Trump’s saying he would love to have the competition.

Trade deal’s benefits and drawbacks:The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal championed by the Obama administration, could force 50,000 American workers each year to find new jobs, according to a report by the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics. But, as the Washington Post writes, the institute’s analysis also suggests the TPP would boost exports by 9% above what they would otherwise be in 2030 and lift the U.S. economy overall by 0.5% a year.

House snowed out:The House of Representatives won’t be in session this week due to the snowstorm that enveloped the Washington area. Meanwhile, Politico reports, the Senate will move a judicial nomination vote to Wednesday from Tuesday. The House had been set to vote on whether to override President Obama’s veto on a bill to repeal his health-care law.