Washington (CNN) Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley called the Republican Party's assertion that overly-burdensome regulations are contributing to inequality "patently bulls---."

In an interview with NPR "Morning Edition" host Steve Inskeep that aired Monday, O'Malley, who is openly contemplating a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, responded to questions concerning the GOP's crusade against regulations.

He said he didn't see "any truth" to the argument from Republicans that too many government regulations can prevent Americans from advancing economically they're unable to hire the lawyers to navigate them. O'Malley went on to agree that large corporations can navigate regulations in a way small businesses can't, saying "our tax code's been turned into Swiss cheese."

"And certainly the concentrated wealth and accumulated power and the systematic deregulation of Wall Street has led to this situation where the economy isn't working for most of us. All of that is true," he said.

"But it is not true that regulation holds poor people down or regulation keeps middle class from advancing. That's kind of patently bulls---."

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