Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 Biden's fiscal program: What is the likely market impact? McConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security MORE (I-Vt.) expressed “absolute confidence” that former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Senate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Cruz: Trump should nominate a Supreme Court justice next week MORE would back him if he becomes the party’s presidential nominee during an interview with CNN correspondent Ryan Nobles Thursday.

“I’m not going to tell you that he and I are best friends, but we’re friends,” Sanders said. “I have talked to him, on and off, for the last many years … I talk to him on the telephone every now and then.”

“He is an icon, clearly, of the Democratic party, and I have absolute confidence that he will play a vigorous, vigorous role, I think he has said this, in the [general election] campaign, and we need him, no question about it,” Sanders added. “If I win, I’m sure he’ll be there at my side, if somebody else wins, he’ll be there at their side.”

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“I expect … that he will play an enormously important role in helping us to defeat Trump,” the Vermont senator concluded.

NEW: ⁦@BernieSanders⁩ tells me he talks to ⁦@BarackObama⁩ on fairly regular basis. He said he is happy with the role Obama is playing in the primary and has “absolute confidence” Obama will fully support him should he become the nominee: pic.twitter.com/0xisvwBykK — Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) February 20, 2020

Sanders has opened a commanding lead in recent national polls, leading the Democratic group of primary candidates by double digits in several recent surveys before crucial nominating contests taking place in coming weeks like the Nevada caucuses, South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday.

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It remains unclear, however, whether delegate allocation will result in him winning a simple majority ahead of the Democratic National Convention, raising the specter of a potential brokered convention in such a scenario.

During Obama's presidency, Sanders sometimes criticized Obama from the left and, during Obama's first term, suggested a primary challenge if the administration cut Social Security. Advisers to the former president have said he has considered weighing in on the primaries if Sanders pulls ahead, but Obama has remained steadfast in his position of neutrality thus far, stating that he will "work [his] tail off" in support of any nominee.

Asked if he believed Obama’s hands-off approach to the primary thus far had been appropriate, Sanders responded “I do … everybody, I’m sure, is tugging at his sleeve, I’ve talked to him a couple of times in the last month or two, and I’m sure everybody else has. By the way, he did this in 2016 as well, and I think that’s exactly the right thing. I don’t want to talk for him, but I think his view is ‘play it out’.”