That said, Sanders believed there was a more sinister method to Trump’s seeming madness.

“This is what is scary about that — when he says that, he’s really sending a signal to Republicans all over this country… and what he’s saying is, ‘We have got to suppress the vote,'” Sanders explained. “We have got to make it harder for poor people, people of color, immigrants, elderly people to participate because they may be voting against us.”

Similarly, when O’Brien read Trump’s tweet about stripping people of citizenship if they burn the American flag, Sanders saw there was a menacing subtext where Trump was telling dissenters to think twice before taking their grievances public.

“What he is really saying is, ‘If you want to dissent, be careful,'” Sanders said. “It’s not just the American flag here — [it’s] ‘we’re watching you.’ That’s what’s scary about that.”