Democratic presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper John HickenlooperCook Political Report shifts Colorado Senate race toward Democrat Willie Nelson playing at virtual fundraiser for Hickenlooper Gardner on court vacancy: Country needs to mourn Ginsburg 'before the politics begin' MORE called "Medicare for All" and the Green New Deal "massive government expansions" in a new interview.

“Well, I think they're massive government expansions,” the former Colorado governor told The Washington Post on Sunday, referring to the two proposals, which many of his fellow 2020 candidates have embraced.

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“Those are the kinds of things that Republicans will try to turn into ‘socialism.’ They're going to call it ‘socialism,’ and they're going to say this is taking away the freedom and independence of the individual," he added. "They're going to try and twist it in every way they can because that's about the only card they're left holding as long as they're still supporting Trump.”

Hickenlooper's comments came after he was booed at the California Democratic Party convention for warning about embracing socialism.

"If we want to beat Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer," he told the delegates gathered in San Francisco, one of the most liberal cities in the country, on Saturday.

Hickenlooper later told the Post he was expecting the negative reaction.

"There's certainly a liberal element that shows up at these state conventions, so I wasn't surprised. I was aware that there might be some pushback,” he said.

Hickenlooper also criticized Medicare for All and the Green New Deal as not being the best approaches to health care and environment.

“Most Democrats share this notion of universal coverage. Most Democrats really understand the urgency of climate change," he told the Post. "But I think we'll get to better solutions faster by recognizing that big, massive government expansions are not going to be as successful.”

Hickenlooper, a former governor of a purple state Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida The Hill's Campaign Report: Presidential polls tighten weeks out from Election Day More than 50 Latino faith leaders endorse Biden MORE won by just 4.9 percentage points in 2016, has presented himself as a moderate choice in the crowded Democratic primary field. He has struggled so far to break 1 percent support in national polls of the race.