Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that “anybody (who) has three homes now, they’ll still have three homes, and a private jet” under his administration, which would be more focused on "growing the country" than “punishing” people.

Biden made the comments during remarks at a private Reno fundraiser on Sunday night at the home of Jeffrey and Allison Gorelick, a Reno-based real estate and developer couple who live in Caughlin Ranch (a wealthy subdivision of Reno). An estimated 88 people attended the fundraiser, including Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall and Reno City Councilman Oscar Delgado.

Biden, who was introduced by the couple’s 14-year-old son, made the comments while referring to his admiration for former President John F. Kennedy, saying he believed the country could accomplish great things without “punishing” anyone. 

“I refuse to postpone any longer the enormous possibilities that we have, without punishing anybody,” he said. “Anybody has three homes now, they’ll still have three homes, and a private jet. Anybody who’s making 100,000 bucks here will make more money. This is not a punishment, this is about growing the country, the economy.”

Biden told the crowd that as a society, Americans should have an interest in ensuring that all people do well economically.

“I don’t know why it’s not in everybody's interest that everybody do better,” he said. “I’ve never found a time where working class people move into the middle class, and everybody doesn’t do well. And you get paid back tenfold. The wealthy still do very, very well, the middle class has some security and the working class has a way up.”

But the former vice president’s comments may provoke similar criticism made by supporters of primary opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who targeted a similar statement made by Biden last year at another private fundraising event that “nothing would fundamentally change” under his presidency. The “three homes” comment may also have been a subtle dig at Sanders, who owns three homes and has an estimated $2 million net worth.

Most of Biden’s 30-minute speech delved into specifics on domestic policy issues, from his concern that the Trump administration had effectively abandoned the cancer “moonshot” initiative that he and former President Barack Obama started, a looming crisis with Alzheimer's Disease patients and a need to invest more money in Title I schools and in mental health support for young people.

Though he did not mention any primary opponents by name, Biden also took aim at one of Sanders’ top proposals of a “Medicare-for-all” single payer health insurance system, saying that he would focus on improving the existing Affordable Care Act.

“People are really concerned about their coverage, and there’s so much we can do without having to go out and spend 30 trillion dollars,” he said. “What we have to do is improve on the health care we have, provide a public option for those who want it, a Medicare-like option. It’ll cost a lot of money, it’ll cost 700 hundred million dollars over ten years, but not 35 trillion dollars over ten years.”

He also criticized President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy, saying he was aghast that Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un — a “thug” — were exchanging “love letters” and undermining existing U.S. alliances in the region. He also said Trump’s relationship with Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin was demoralizing to U.S. allies and domestically, and that he was better equipped to deal with the Russian leader.

“I know Vladimir Putin better than he does. I’ve spent more time with him, for real,” he said. “Vladimir Putin knows that I know him, and he knows me. I said to Vladimir Putin at one point when we were alone, in Russia, Moscow, that ‘I’m looking in your eyes and don’t think you have a soul.’ He looks back and says ‘We understand each other.’ Not a joke.”

He also criticized Trump and Attorney General William Barr’s relationship, which has come under fire for Trump’s tweets about ongoing cases and the Department of Justice withdrawing a sentencing recommendation for Trump confidant Roger Stone after the president “railed against the sentencing guideline.”

“Have you ever seen the Department of Justice weaponized like it is now?" he said. “Look, it’s been weaponized, as if it's a personal lawyer, law firm, that you can use in any way you want to.”

Biden, who is locked in a tough race with Sanders and other Democratic presidential hopefuls before Nevada’s caucus next Saturday, is scheduled to host an event in Reno on Monday morning.