“He’s trying to appeal to those extreme, extreme, extreme extremists who still believe Obama was not born in the United States,” Sanders said on CNN’s “New Day.”

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Sanders echoed the words of the GOP’s last presidential nominee to slam its current nominee.

“I very rarely quote Mitt Romney. He is not one of my political heroes,” he said. “But Romney I think hit the nail on the head when he said Trump is a fraud and a phony.”

Sanders said the media, and CNN in particular, deserves blame for Trump’s rise.

“He is a very good showman, he manipulates the media fantastically,” he said.

“He does exactly what the media wants, he gives them some crazy statement every day and he’s all over television. You can’t turn on CNN without seeing Donald Trump.”

Sanders acknowledged that the polls are close and Trump has a realistic chance of winning

Asked what he would do if the businessman won, Sanders replied, "Try to overcome my depression and figure out where we go from there.”