Bernie Sanders' campaign is "basically a conspiracy theory," targeting a "small segment of the population" whose influence is "easily overestimated," Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume said Sunday.

Discussing the upcoming New Hampshire primary on Fox News' special coverage live from Bedford, N.H., Hume responded to the Vermont senator's earlier claim that his rival, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, has courted wealthy donors for his campaign, while Sanders generally has avoided them.

Sanders also argued that candidates taking money from rich CEOs would naturally be loath to stand up to them and their corporations while in office.

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"Sanders' campaign, this time and the time before, is basically a conspiracy theory," Hume said, referencing Sanders' 2016 presidential run. "He's running against a tiny little segment of the population whose influence is easily overestimated, and... it's probably not good politics."

Sanders, fresh off the controversial Iowa caucuses, continued to take shots at his rival, just hours after Buttigieg said his campaign has been "defined by inclusion," welcoming of all supporters, regardless of wealth or class.

During an earlier speech at the Shaheen-McIntyre 100 Club Dinner, Buttigieg fired shots of his own with a line that he first started using on the campaign trail in Iowa a week ago as he highlighted the tough task ahead of trying to defeat President Trump in November’s general election.

"We cannot risk dividing Americans' future further, saying that you must either be for a revolution or you must be for the status quo," Buttigieg said. "Let's make room for everybody in this movement." Sanders has often called for a "political revolution" in the U.S.

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While Hume predicted a Sanders victory in New Hampshire, he cautioned viewers against underestimating the former mayor.

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"I think he's easily the most talented young Democratic politician to come along since Barack Obama," Hume said. "Easily. His ability to field these hot grounders that are coming from his opponents... he's really got talent."

"Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace also praised Buttigieg for what he called "political jiu-jitsu" after the former mayor fired back against a brutal campaign ad released by former vice president Joe Biden Saturday that mocked Buttigieg’s experience as mayor and sharply contrasted their achievements.

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"Here's a sense of... Buttigieg, he is such a skillful politician," Wallace said. "Biden puts out a really rough ad and, you know, says, 'I was doing health care while you were putting decorative lights on bridges,' and Buttigieg turns and says, 'well, I guess you're mocking the choices in the lives of people in small-town America. We should have somebody who's sensitive to that, not sensitive to Washington.'"

Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.