Sanders calls Iowa visit ‘very positive trip’

JOHNSTON - Bernie Sanders will run for president only if there is a massive groundswell of support on the ground level, he says.

A two-day visit to Iowa was encouraging, the liberal independent U.S. senator from Vermont said Wednesday.

Sanders spoke at events in Ames and Altoona on Tuesday, drawing hundreds to both, and on Wednesday, he taped an episode of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press.”

'We had a really good day (Tuesday). I was very surprised by the turnout that we had in Ames, and there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm,” Sanders told reporters after taping 'Iowa Press.” 'As we go around the state, we seem to be attracting a large number of people … people want a change.

'I think it's fair to say this was a good trip, a very positive trip.”

On 'Iowa Press,” Sanders talked about the challenges of facing well-funded opponents while running as an independent candidate. Sanders, who has served more than two decades in Congress as an independent, has not said whether he would run for president as an independent or a Democrat, if he chooses to enter the race.

Sanders indicated Wednesday he would prefer to remain independent, but he acknowledged that presents its own challenge of a lack of national campaign infrastructure.

'It's a tough decision for me, because … I am the longest-serving independent in the history of the United States Congress. I've always won as an independent in the state of Vermont,” Sanders said. 'Furthermore, I think it's fair to say that there is an enormous amount of anger and frustration against the two-party system. I think people see, in most parts of the country, the Republican Party having moved very far to the right, the Democratic Party not doing what it should do in terms of representing ordinary Americans. So being an independent has many advantages. …

'But, on the other hand, from a political perspective … running as an independent outside of the two-party system means to say you have to set up a political infrastructure in 50 states in America. I happen not to be a billionaire. That's pretty hard to do. So that's kind of what I'm weighing.”

Sanders' appearance on 'Iowa Press” will air Dec. 26 through Dec. 28.