Jane Sanders dismisses Trump’s advice: Bernie won’t run ‘as an independent’

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders won’t run as an independent, his wife Jane Sanders said Tuesday, dismissing advice from Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

“I think we’ve been very clear right from the beginning that we will not play the role of spoiler,” Jane Sanders said on CNN’s “Wolf.” “Bernie will not be running as an independent.”

{mosads}Trump earlier Tuesday tweeted that Bernie Sanders “has been treated terribly by the Democrats” in the campaign.

“He should show them, and run as an Independent!” Trump wrote of the Independent senator from Vermont.

Trump himself has repeatedly flirted with an independent bid, warning the GOP to treat him fairly during the primary process. The GOP front-runner appears focused now on fending off a challenge from rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich, who are coordinating to deny him enough delegates to force a contested Republican National Convention in July.

Asked if she thought Democrats had treated her husband fairly, Jane Sanders said, “Yes, but the process needs to change. We need an open electoral system.”

The Sanders campaign has criticized states with closed primaries, arguing they prevented independent voters from showing their support.

Jane Sanders also said that her husband didn’t want to splinter Democrats in the November general election.

“We cannot afford a Republican in the White House. We cannot afford a Republican appointing Supreme Court justices,” she said.

She insisted that Sanders’ “political revolution … will be a force to be reckoned with” regardless of whether he wins the Democratic nomination.

Bernie Sanders has said any other nominee will need to win over his supporters, giving him leverage.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, is favored in polls in several Northeastern states voting Tuesday. She expanded her delegate lead over Sanders by winning New York last week.