Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has warned that Republican nominee Donald Trump would be disastrous for the U.S. if he were elected president.

On Sept. 20, Sanders sat down for an interview with The Nation.

When asked to respond to his supporters who felt betrayed that he would endorse and campaign for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Sanders framed his decision as an effort to defeat Trump.

“The first thing that I’ve got to think about is: What does a Donald Trump presidency mean for the people of my state and for the people of this country?” Sanders responded. “And for the world? I think it would be an absolute disaster. It would be beyond a disaster.”

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Sanders, who had campaigned against Clinton during the Democratic primary, added that he does have disagreements with the former secretary of state.

“The point is not to say that we love Hillary Clinton or that we agree with her on all of the issues,” Sanders continued. “The goal is to go above that and ask: Which candidate will do a better job for middle-class and working-class families? I think the answer is obvious.”

While Sanders promised to hold a President Clinton accountable to the progressive Democratic platform, which his team had helped draft, he also characterized Trump as a threat to the American people.

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“I just don’t know what America looks like four years after his election, in terms of the kind of bigotry that will be erupting, in terms of the kind of divisiveness that we will see, the kind of demagoguery that we will see,” Sanders said.

The Vermont senator has been a vocal critic of Trump, deeming him both a hate-monger and a hypocrite.

On Sept. 16, Sanders blasted Trump during a sit-down on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

“It’s pathetic and laughable,” Sanders said of Trump’s appeal, according to Uproxx.

“Here is a guy who has exploited people throughout much of his business career. Here is a guy who claims how concerned he is about American companies going abroad to manufacture products ... and yet, his own clothing manufacturing is done in other countries around the world where the poor workers are being exploited.”

The same day, Sanders urged the portion of disaffected voters who had supported him during the primary to not cast their ballot for Trump just to spite Clinton.

“Please, anybody who supports me -- do not think that Donald Trump in any way, shape or form reflects the point of view that I have,” Sanders told CNN.

“Either Hillary Clinton is going to become president or Donald Trump is going to become president,” Sanders concluded. “And I’m going to work as hard as I can to prevent Trump from becoming president.”

Sources: CNN, The Nation, Uproxx / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr