Sanders takes aim at Bloomberg: "Trump will chew him up and spit him out"

Bernie Sanders told CBS "60 Minutes" that he was surprised by Mike Bloomberg's lackluster performance at Wednesday's Democratic debate.

What he's saying: "If that's what happened in a Democratic debate, you know, I think it's quite likely that Trump will chew him up and spit him out."

Watch the video:

The exchange:

Anderson Cooper:  "Were you surprised by how unprepared he seemed for some very basic, obvious questions at a debate in Nevada?"

Bernie Sanders: "Yes, I was. I was. And if that's what happened in a Democratic debate, you know, I — I think it's quite likely that Trump will chew him up and spit him out."

Anderson Cooper: "Are you less worried about Michael Bloomberg? If you were worried about him before, are you less worried now after having that debate?"

Bernie Sanders: "I am worried about an unprecedented amount of money being spent on a campaign. And — you know, we've never seen anything like this in American history. And I just think though that the American people will rebel against this type of oligarchic movement. We are a democracy. One person, one vote. Not a guy worth $60 billion buying an election."

Why it matters: Bloomberg's Democratic rivals zeroed in on him at his debate debut.

• Bloomberg didn't directly address Sen. Elizabeth Warren's portrayal of him as racist and sexist.
• When Warren asked the former mayor to release women from nondisclosure agreements that barred them from publicly sharing their allegations, Bloomberg said, "Maybe they didn't like a joke I told."

Go deeper: Bloomberg's baggage, and barrage