WASHINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has said that it's "very, very unlikely" that he will run for U.S. president again.

"I think the likelihood is very, very slim at that," Sanders said during a Washington Post Live event on Monday.

"I think next time around you'll see another progressive carrying the banner," he added. "I think it's very, very unlikely that I'll ever be running for president again."

The 78-year-old progressive made the comments several weeks after he ended his second presidential campaign, making former Vice President Joe Biden, a 77-year-old moderate political veteran, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Sanders expressed hope that Biden, if elected, will look to the progressive wings of the Democratic Party for some cabinet picks.

"I hope very much that Joe will take a hard look at some of the leading progressives in this country ... what you need to bring into the Cabinet is not only people who have the progressive ideology, but people who have the experience of interacting with working class people who understand that now is the time to tell the billionaire class and 1 percent that this economy is going to change," the senator said.

Sanders first ran for president in the 2016 race but was defeated by Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nominating process.

Sitting President Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in March.