Stephanopoulos Presses Sanders for Suggesting Obama Primary Challenge in 2012

George Stephanopoulos confronted Bernie Sanders on ABC’s This Week this morning over Martin O’Malley‘s attack that he was disloyal to President Obama.

During the South Carolina Democratic forum this past Friday, O’Malley touted his credentials as a lifelong Democrat who fully supported the president in 2012 before saying Sanders was trying to get someone to run against Obama.

In March 2011, Sanders said that a primary challenge to the president would “enliven” the debate on the Democratic side, and four months later he even said, “One of the reasons the president has been able to move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him… I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.”

When Stephanopoulos pressed him earlier on “trying to gin up opposition,” but Sanders dismissed this as “media stuff.” He insisted that the implication he opposed Obama’s reelection is “categorically false.”

Sanders explained he worked “very hard” to get Obama elected in 2012 and praised what a good job he has done, especially with all the Republican opposition he’s faced.

Watch above, via ABC.

[image via screengrab]

— —

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!