Sen. Bernie Sanders said President Donald Trump wants to "undermine American democracy," exhibits "strong authoritarian tendencies" and "kind of likes" authoritarian leaders in other countries, The Hill reported Saturday.

"We have a president who has strong authoritarian tendencies; who wants to, every day, undermine American democracy," Sanders said Friday on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."

"In my state and all over this country you have men and women who have fought and died to defend American democracy, and this guy looks all over the world and he kind of likes these authoritarian leaders," he added.

Trump has been accused of being too friendly with autocratic leaders such as Russia's President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping. And, because of attacks he's made against the media and government institutions, Trump has been accused of leading in an authoritarian manner himself.

Sanders, who ran in the Democratic presidential primary in 2016, has indicated an interest in again running for president in 2020, according to remarks made last week by his former campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. The Vermont Independent is currently running for re-election to the Senate in 2018.