Bernie Sanders pushes back on the idea that he wanted a primary challenger for President Barack Obama in 2012 on ABC's 'This Week'. Sanders: 'Categorically false' that he worked against Obama in 2012 The Democratic presidential candidate pushes back on the notion he wanted a primary challenger for President Barack Obama.

Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed back on Sunday against the notion — floated by Democratic presidential rival Martin O'Malley — that he wanted a primary challenger for President Barack Obama in 2012.

"This is media stuff," the independent senator from Vermont said on ABC's "This Week." "I do — and have done — for years a radio show every single Friday with Thom Hartmann. Somebody asked me years ago, 'Do you think there should be a primary opponent to Barack Obama? I don’t know exactly the words that I said, [but] I said what’s wrong with a primary situation?"


But Sanders said that doesn't mean that he worked against the president when he was running for reelection in 2012. "The idea that I've worked against Barack Obama is categorically false," Sanders said.

