Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders says the prospect of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg considering an independent presidential campaign “speaks volumes about the state of American politics” and notes that if a race included Bloomberg, Republican Donald Trump and himself, “two of the three candidates would be multi-billionaires.”

In an interview with The Associated Press Tuesday, Sanders also said that the notion that he must win Iowa’s caucuses against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is “mythology” and appeared to lower expectations about the race.

He dismisses the notion that President Barack Obama might be tipping the scales in favor of Clinton, saying the president was “very generous to me.” He says both Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are trying to be “objective and letting the people decide.”

(AP)