Bernie Sanders has said that his election as the United States’ first Jewish President would represent “another barrier broken down”.

The US senator from Vermont made the remark in an interview on the campaign trail with Now This News in a segment titled 20 Questions for 2020.

The 77-year-old, originally from Brooklyn, New York City, added that “breaking down barriers” is the goal of “what politics in America should be”.

He said: “To elect people, whether they are women, whether they’re men, whether they’re gay, whether they’re straight, whether they’re old, whether they’re young.

“Elect the best candidates, the candidates who speak to your needs.”

If elected, Mr Sanders will become the first Jewish US President in history.

Barry Goldwater became the first person of Jewish ancestry to run for president on a major party ticket in 1964, when he won the Republican nomination. He was defeated by Democrat Lyndon B Johnson.

The office of Vice President has never been held by a Jewish American either, although Joe Lieberman ran unsuccessfully alongside Al Gore in 2000.

Mr Sanders also spoke of facing antisemitism on the campaign trail, saying: “Being Jewish, I get hit every now and then with antisemitism.

“You respond with anger, and you respond by appreciating what it is to understand that there are people in the African-American community, in the Latino community, in the gay community, women, who are discriminated against every day.”