Thursday, former Obama White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina weighed in on the prospects of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) winning the Democratic nomination for 2020.

Messina said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Sanders is “the worst candidate” in the general election to take on President Donald Trump because of his socialist message of free college tuition, free health care and the like.

“In a general election, it’s a message that I think is going to get him killed,” Messina told MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle of Sanders. “I think he’s the worst candidate in a general election for exactly that reason.”

“You think Bernie is the worst candidate?” asked co-host Willie Geist.

“Oh, I don’t think there’s a question about it,” Messina replied. “I think it’s very clear to me that with these swing voters that I care about, the Trump-Obama voters in Midwestern states, Bernie Sanders is not the candidate we need to beat Donald Trump in November.”

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