It's been a tough week for Bernie Sanders.
The delegate gap between himself and Democratic competitor Hillary Clinton continues to widen in the fight to win the party's presidential nomination. After Clinton won primary contests in four more states on Tuesday — including California — Sanders faces some tough choices about his campaign.
A Tuesday report from the New York Times claimed Sanders would be laying off "at least half" of his campaign staff on Wednesday. Despite the news, Sanders told supporters on Tuesday he planned to fight on.
Squashing suspicions that he'd drop out of the race, Sanders told a crowd of supporters in California, "We are going to fight hard to win the primary in Washington, DC."
He added that his campaign would take the fight to Philadelphia, where the party's national convention is slated to take place in July.
Sanders managed to pick up victories in North Dakota and Montana on Tuesday. Clinton, meanwhile, won over California, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.
As those results poured in, Sanders walked onto a stage and addressed a rambunctious crowd. “Let me thank all of you for being here tonight — and let me thank all of you for being part of the political revolution,” he said.
Sanders noted that when his campaign started just over a year ago, it was considered a "fringe campaign."
The Vermont senator, who has since amassed an enormous following, joked, "But over the last year, I think that has changed just a little bit."
Sanders went on to slight presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the speech. "The American people in my view, will never support a candidate whose major theme is bigotry," Sanders said. He also added, "[Trump is a person] who insults Mexicans, who insults Muslims and women, and African Americans."
Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, added, "But we understand that our mission is more than just defeating Trump. It is transforming our country."
The senator went on to reiterate his campaign focuses of social, economic and racial justice.
Sanders' vow to continue surprised some, especially since just hours earlier, the report that he was expected to lay off at least half of his campaign staff was published.
The story's information came from two people close to his campaign, who said the layoff — which would mainly affect staff members who help with campaign logistics — was slated for Wednesday, according to the New York Times.
The news comes after Clinton reached the number of delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination — 2,382 — on Monday. Despite that milestone, Sanders is apparently pushing for a contested convention in Philadelphia.
