A GOP Lawmaker Just Called Bernie Sanders A 'Threat To National Security.' Here's What Set Him Off.

House Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) called Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) a “threat to national security” Monday ahead of Sanders’ plans to host top Chinese experts in a discussion about the risks of artificial intelligence.

“America-last Sen. Sanders is a guy that has a history of embracing communism, visiting the Soviet Union,” Crawford said on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings With Maria.” “It was back during the Cold War when Americans typically did not go to the Soviet Union, but that was a vacation destination for him.”

Claiming that Sanders, a self-declared Democratic Socialist, “embraces Chinese communism,” the GOP lawmaker added, “All I can say is if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, it’s a duck.”

Crawford also described Sanders as a “communist,” and said he is a “threat to national security.”

HuffPost has reached out to Sanders’ office for comment.