"A lot of people, especially in the [Hillary] Clinton campaign, say that you're hurting the party and you're hurting her chances" in the general election, co-host Mika Brzezinski said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

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"I’m hurting the party?" Sanders said with a laugh.

Sanders cited a poll from Harvard this week that found he has high a favorability rating among younger voters and argued he is attracting "millions" of people into the Democratic Party.

"So I don’t think we’re hurting the party," Sanders continued.

"I think a vigorous debate on the important issues facing the American people is not only exactly what democracy is supposed to be about, at the end of the day, it creates more political interest, it drives up voter turnout, and when voter turnout is high progressives and Democrats win elections," he added.