Hillary Clinton talks with Ellen about Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and her VP
Hillary Clinton's appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' show, recorded Tuesday, is full of light moments, but the topic of Donald Trump didn't provide any of them. When DeGeneres asked whether she ever thought she was "going to be up against Trump," Clinton admitted it hadn't occurred to her.
"No. No, and I don't think any of the 16 other Republicans who ran against him ever thought that would happen," she told DeGeneres, according to an excerpt provided by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." "But you've got to give him what he's accomplished: he won the most votes....But I think that once the seriousness of the general election really hits people he has to start being held accountable. He can't just make these pronouncements insult people, scape goat people, you know, call immigrants 'murderers' and 'rapists' and insult women and insult people with disabilities, and be so derogatory toward Muslims."
And though primary opponent Bernie Sanders' rhetoric about her remains combative, Clinton, recalling her own support for Barack Obama after her 2008 defeat, believes Sanders will come around.
"I ran all the way to the end against then Senator Obama," she told DeGeneres. "And when it was over, because we had a much closer race than the one currently is between Senator Sanders and myself, I withdrew. I endorsed him, and I worked really hard to elect him, and I do believe that Bernie will do that."
Running mates were also discussed -- Clinton excluded her husband, whom she believes is constitutionally ineligible because he's been president for two terms, and the vice presidency would put him in line for a third. But she went on to quip that she was on the show to interview DeGeneres for the job, offering to put her "in charge of returning kindness to America."
However, relocation was out of the question for DeGeneres, especially once it became clear that instead of the White House, she'd have to live in the vice president's mansion -- "it's a nice house," Clinton assured her.
"No. I have a nice house," DeGeneres said. "I'm fine." During the show, DeGeneres also quizzed her on veep possibilities in a variation on the "Who'd you rather?" game.
CBS News' Hannah Fraser-Chanpong contributed to this report.