Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is pushing back against presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden’s claim that he is the most liberal of the Democrats vying for president in 2020.

Sanders disagrees with Biden’s claim that he has “the most progressive record” of any candidate in the Democrat field, citing Biden’s Senate votes in an interview with ABC News on Sunday.

“I think if you look at Joe’s record and you look at my record, I don’t think there’s much question about who’s more progressive,” Sanders said. ”Joe voted for the war in Iraq, I led the effort against it.”

“Joe voted for NAFTA and permanent trade relations, trade agreements with China,” Sanders said. “I led the effort against that.”

“Joe voted for the deregulation of Wall Street, I voted against that,” Sanders said, noting that he considers his competitor “a good friend” and does not want to “attack him.”

“The explanation is the latest in a series of answers Sanders has given in the past week differentiating himself from his fellow 2020 Democratic primary front-runner — the pair have topped nearly every poll gauging the race — following Biden’s formal entrance into the race on April 25,” ABC reported.

ABC also reported:

The former vice president, who represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years prior to his elevation to the country’s number-two office, was responding to claimed criticisms by the “new left” — the increasing wave of liberal Democrats, many of whom cite Sanders’ 2016 presidential run as inspiration for their views — when he touted his “progressive record” before a home-state audience in a March speech.

Health care is another issue that separates the two candidates. Sanders is calling for Medicare for All, while Biden is in favor of fixing his former boss’s Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which led to much higher costs for medical insurance. 

Unlike Sanders, Biden also would preserve the private insurance industry.

“[T]he system today is truly dysfunctional,” Sanders said in the ABC interview. “All that I want to do is expand Medicare over a four year period. To cover every man, woman and child in this country…. if you want a better program, a more comprehensive program, with no deductibles, with no copayments, with no premiums, which will cost your family less, support Medicare for all.”

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