Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist running for president, had some advice Thursday for people preparing to watch the first Republican debate: Imagine you're “extremely greedy and selfish,” and the candidates will be speaking to you.

Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who has emerged as the leading alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, offered his preview of the GOP’s 10-candidate encounter in Cleveland during an interview on “The Agenda with Ari Rabin-Havt” on SiriusXM’s Progress Channel 127.

“Listen closely, and this is what they will tell you,” Sanders advised. “They want to give more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires at a time when the rich are getting much richer. … Essentially, when you watch that debate, just imagine if you are one of the wealthiest people in this country and extremely greedy and selfish, and you're going to have 10 candidates more or less talking about your needs and not the needs of the working people.”

Sanders has seen his crowds swell and his poll numbers rise this summer as he rails against the political influence of the “billionaire class.”

Sanders, Clinton and the other Democratic hopefuls will get their first turn at a debate in October, under a schedule of sanctioned debates released Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.