Bernie Sanders aims to return to his heavy campaign schedule once he’s recovered from his heart attack.
The 78-year-old Vermont senator claims he “misspoke” this week when he said he would scale back his events compared with the “five or six” stops he often makes on the trail.
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“I misspoke the other day. I said a word I should not have said and media drives me a little bit nuts to make a big deal about it,” the second-time presidential candidate told NBC News on Wednesday. “We’re going to get back into the groove of a very vigorous campaign. I love doing rallies and I love doing town meetings.”
Sanders said he would “start off slower and build up and build up and build up.”
On Tuesday, Sanders told reporters he was “dumb” for not listening to his body and acknowledging signs of fatigue.
“We were doing in some cases five or six meetings today, three or four rallies and town meetings and meeting with groups of people. I don’t think I’m going to do that. But I certainly intend to be actively campaigning. I think we can change the nature of the campaign a bit. Make sure that I have the strength to do what I have to do,” he said.
Last week, Sanders received two stents to fix a blockage in one artery after experiencing “chest discomfort” during a campaign event in Las Vegas. To expedite the healing process, which usually takes a couple of weeks, the senator’s camp canceled most of his appearances until further notice, except for the Oct. 15 Democratic presidential primary debate in Westerville, Ohio.
Sanders is the oldest Democratic 2020 presidential candidate and, if elected next year, would be the oldest commander in chief. President Ronald Reagan, the oldest president, was 77 at the end of his two terms in 1989.
[Read more: 2020 candidates are too old, warns Obama’s former doctor: ‘We’re asking for trouble’]
