The primary frontrunner told CNN reporter Ryan Nobles yesterday that Obama was an “icon” of the Democratic Party and said he had “absolute confidence” that the former president would play a “vigorous” role in the November election.
Sanders also said he was sure Obama would “be there at my side” if the senator is nominated in July at the Democratic National Convention.
Recent polling suggests Sanders is the candidate most likely to receive the most support from delegates in primaries and caucuses in the coming months. The Real Clear Politics average of national primary polling gives Sanders an 11-point lead over all candidates, with just under 29 percent of party voters backing him in a hotly contested field.
A primary forecast published by FiveThirtyEight also gave Sanders the best odds (3 in 5) of winning a majority of pledged delegates.
Speaking to CNN yesterday about the importance of an endorsement from Obama going forward, Sanders said, “I’m not going to tell you that he and I are best friends. But we’re friends, and I have talked to him on and off for the last many years.”
He said he speaks with the former president on the telephone “every now and then.” Sanders added, “He is an icon, clearly, in the Democratic party, and I have absolute confidence that he will play a vigorous, vigorous role… in the campaign.
“We need him, no question about it. We need him. And if I win, I’m sure he’ll be there at my side. If somebody else wins, he’ll be there at their side.
“But I expect and know that he’ll play an enormously important role in helping us to defeat Trump.”
Asked if he felt the minimal role played by Obama in the primary was appropriate, Sanders said he did.
“Everybody I’m sure has been tugging at his sleeves,” Sanders said. “I’ve talked to him a couple of times, last month or two, and I’m sure everybody else has.”
He added, “[Obama] did this in 2016 as well, and I think that’s exactly the right thing.”
Newsweek contacted representatives of former President Obama for comment and will update this article with any response.
Sanders remarks come a month after the Daily Beast reported Democrats close to Obama said they hoped the senator would “flame out,” and three months after Politico reported the former president would “speak up” to stop Sanders if he looked likely to win the nomination.
In January, former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina also said Sanders was “the worst candidate” the Democratic Party could pit against President Trump.
“I think it’s very clear to me that with these swing voters that I care about—the Trump-Obama voters in the Midwestern states—Bernie Sanders is not the candidate we need to beat Donald Trump in November,” he said.
