Sanders tells Colbert: I run ‘a people’s campaign’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) defended running for president without the aid of a super-PAC to Stephen Colbert on Friday evening, telling the “Late Show” host he’s ginning up plenty of grassroots support without one, according to reports.

“If you want to win it, sir, you’ve got to be in it,” Colbert said. “Every tool in the chest. Don’t bring a spoon to a knife fight.”

{mosads}Sanders responded: “I don’t support the agenda of corporate America or the billionaire class. I don’t want their money.”

“That’s called a people’s campaign, not a billionaire’s campaign,” he added.

Even Colbert acknowledged that crowd sizes at Sanders events have been impressive.

“A guy in his 70s filling stadiums. Who does he think he is? A Rolling Stone?” he quipped.

The socialist senator again went after the GOP front-runner, Donald Trump, for his controversial remarks on immigration.

“I think that what Trump is doing is appealing to the baser instincts among us — xenophobia, and frankly, racism — describing an entire group of people, in this case Mexicans, as rapists or criminals. I think that’s disgraceful, and not something we should be doing in 2015,” Sanders said.

Sanders rejected comparisons to 2008 candidate Ralph Nader, saying his rising polling numbers and huge rallies indicate genuine momentum, not just a bump in the road for his leading competitor for the Democratic nomination.

“If you look at the polls, we do almost as well … as Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said, “and that will only get better in the future.”