President Donald Trump came to the defense of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, saying he didn't believe the Vermont senator said a woman could not be elected president.

Speaking at a Tuesday night rally in Milwaukee, Trump cast doubt on an account by Sen. Elizabeth Warren that Sanders told her in private that a woman could not win the White House in 2020.


“I don’t believe that he said this because you know, I don't know him. I don't particularly like him. He's a nasty guy... but it's not his deal,” Trump said. “She said that Bernie stated strongly that a woman can’t win for president.“

He continued: “A woman can win for president.”

“Fortunately...” he said before giggling to the crowd's cheers in an apparent reference to his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

While Warren and Sanders have long avoided directly attacking each other, their policy similarities haven't made the two progressive candidates immune to clashes on the campaign trail. CNN first reported on Sanders' alleged comments Monday, and Warren confirmed the account in an extraordinary statement Monday night.


“Among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed,” Warren said in the statement.

The two Democratic candidates face each other during the Democratic primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday night — only hours after Trump's Milwaukee rally.