Bernie downplays rumors of possible 2020 run despite upcoming trip to South Carolina

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., downplayed speculation on Sunday that he’ll make another run at the presidency in 2020 – saying that the focus right now should be on the upcoming midterm elections. (Associated Press)

Sen. Bernie Sanders downplayed speculation on Sunday that he’ll make another run at the presidency in 2020 – saying that the focus right now should be on the upcoming midterm elections.

Appearing on a number of  Sunday morning talk shows, the Democratic Socialist brushed aside questions about his potential candidacy and how he would stack up against former Vice President Joe Biden in a Democratic primary. Instead, Sanders argued that the focus should be on mobilizing voters to head to the polls in what has historically been an election with low turnout.

“We have three weeks to go in the most important midterm election in the history of this country,” Sanders, I-Vt., said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think that is what we need to focus on.”

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During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” the Vermont lawmaker said that if voters stay home in November, then Republicans will decisively maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

“This whole election will come down to if we can mobilize people to vote,” Sanders added. “You’ve got to come out and vote. We don’t need the right-wing party controlling the White House, Congress and [Supreme] court.”

Despite his words on Sunday, Sanders appears to already be looking at the early voting states, with a scheduled trip later this month to South Carolina to take part in a rally with the state's arm of Our Revolution, an offshoot of Sanders' campaign. He was soundly defeated in 2016 by ultimate Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, earning just 26 percent of the vote.

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Sanders' visit has made clear that divisions still exist among the state's Democrats following the bruising 2016 primary. The day after his visit was announced, some of the party's young leaders called the trip "extremely selfish" and self-serving, as Sanders hadn't been invited by any candidate on this fall's ballots. One said Sanders would be better off if he "got lost."

Sanders also took aim at the president, calling Trump a “pathological liar” and slamming him for claims that the Vermont senator would turn the United State into Venezuela if he had been elected to the Oval Office in 2016.

“The president is a pathological liar,” Sanders said. “The president says massive lies.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.