Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Wednesday that the Republican Party has “demonized” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), adding that the GOP has attacked Pelosi because she’s a woman.

Sanders said on CBS’s “This Morning” that he believes Pelosi is an effective leader and called the Republican Party “bankrupt intellectually” for its attacks on her.

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“I think Nancy has done a good job,” Sanders said. “Let me say what she may not say, I think it’s also the fact that she is a woman. I think they have demonized her. The Republican Party is bankrupt intellectually. They are not going to campaign on their views of giving tax cuts to billionaires and cutting Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, so they have to come up with some demon and I guess their demon now is Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline Trump signs largely symbolic pre-existing conditions order amid lawsuit MORE.”

Is Nancy Pelosi an effective leader?



"Yeah, I think Nancy has done a good job. Let me also say, I think it is also the fact that she is a woman. I think they have demonized her. The Republican party is bankrupt intellectually." -- Sen. @BernieSanders pic.twitter.com/wmUGjVANAo — CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) August 15, 2018

Pelosi has been a frequent target of members of the Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections. President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE has used Twitter to attack Pelosi, often calling her “weak.”

Pelosi has said she will run for Speaker if Democrats regain the chamber’s majority in November.

Sanders’s comments on Wednesday came a day after he won the Senate Democratic nomination in Vermont. He’s expected to reject the nomination and run as an independent in November.