The remarks were Bernie Sanders' harshest yet on the former president. | Getty Sanders hits Bill Clinton on welfare reform, trade

LAS VEGAS — Bernie Sanders is running against Hillary Clinton, but he made clear on Thursday that he's still no big fan of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

"Bill Clinton was the president who led the effort to deregulate Wall Street, was the president who fought for the disastrous NAFTA trade agreement," the Vermont senator said to reporters on his campaign plane as he flew from Washington to Las Vegas.


Clinton, he continued, "was the president who pushed this so-called welfare reform, which was absolutely disastrous for low-income people in general, and the African-American community in particular."

The remarks were the Democratic contender's harshest yet on the former president, who has recently stepped up his own criticisms of Sanders as a surrogate for his wife's campaign. Previously, Sanders has brushed off questions about Bill Clinton's past behavior, but he has not shied away from criticizing policies that were enacted during Clinton's administration.