Former President Barack Obama is reportedly worried about Sen. Bernie Sanders', I-Vt., rise in the polls, saying in private the left wing presidential contender is not fit to beat President Donald Trump.
Obama is even considering saying something public about it, Fox Business reported.
Citing unnamed sources, Fox Business reported among Obama's concerns are not only Sanders' no-compromise political stances and confrontational manners, but also that policies like tax increases, free college tuition, and student debt forgiveness could alienate traditional Democratic voters.
According to Fox Business, Obama is weighing a more forceful public rebuke of Sanders as the Democrats' presidential nominee, though it is not clear if Obama would call out Sanders by name or just talk about his worries in more general terms.
He also could remain silent if Joe Biden, his former vice president, or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., begin to overtake Sanders in the early primaries and polling, the news outlet reported.
A spokeswoman for Obama and a spokesman for Sanders declined to comment.
The New York Times in November reported, Obama appeared genuinely worried about some of the increasingly leftist proposals being touted on the campaign trail from Sanders, as well as Warren.
"The average American doesn't think we have to completely tear down the system to remake it," the Times quoted Obama telling Democratic donors.
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