Bernie Sanders backtracks, says he’s going to run a 'vigorous campaign' after heart attack

(Image credit: Screenshot/NBC News)

published October 9, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is not slowing down after all, he told NBC News on Wednesday.

Sanders said he "misspoke" Monday when he hinted that he might "change the nature" of his Democratic presidential campaign and reduce the number of rallies and town halls he holds following what turned out to be a heart attack last week. Sanders said it drove him "a little bit nuts" when the media made a big deal about his Monday comments. "We're going to get back into the groove of a very vigorous campaign, I love doing rallies and I love doing town meetings," he said. "I want to start off slower and build up and build up and build up."

That wasn't the only thing Sanders seemed annoyed about in terms of the media's coverage. He didn't take too kindly to the criticism he and his campaign received for not explaining that he had suffered a heart attack until a few days after initially announcing he underwent a heart procedure. "That's nonsense," Sanders said, referring to the idea that his campaign exhibited a lack of transparency. "I don't know what people think campaigns are, you know we're dealing with all kinds of doctors and we wanted to have a sense of what the hell was going on really."