Warren Buffett: 'I Admire' Bernie Sanders

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has made taking on the superrich the focus of his campaign, received high praise this week from one of the country’s most famous billionaires.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and a longtime Democratic donor, told CNBC on Tuesday that he admired Sanders’ campaign.

Sanders “campaigns exactly as I hope that I would if I were a candidate,” Buffett said. “He’s been forthright. He has not been knocking the other candidates.”

Buffett, who often speaks out against income inequality, specifically praised Sanders’ promise to appoint only judges who would overturn the Citizens United decision and his emphasis on helping “the people left behind.”

“I think he’s run a model campaign,” Buffett said, even as he acknowledged that he believes Sanders is unelectable. “He’s not gonna get elected, but I think he -- I admire him.”

Buffett stopped stopped short of backing Sanders, instead reaffirming his support for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Buffett announced he would vote for Clinton in May, and made donations to the Ready for Hillary super PAC.

Buffett said that Clinton could have handled the controversy over her private email server better, arguing that she should have been “blunt” about making a mistake earlier on in the process. But the billionaire investor said that Clinton’s policies and political skills mattered most to him.

“What I care about with Hillary is what she would do as president of the United States and her ability to do it if she becomes president of the U.S. -- in both respects, I am a terrific supporter,” he said.