President Obama officially endorses Hillary Clinton as Democratic Party presidential nominee
President Barack Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton on Thursday, saying, “I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.”
The forceful show of support, which came after Obama met with Sen. Bernie Sanders for more than an hour at the White House, is designed to unite the party ahead of what is expected to be an especially brutal general election against Donald Trump.
The first joint appearance with Clinton and Obama will take place next Wednesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Obama for months has signaled his support for Clinton, who spent four years as his secretary of state after losing out to the freshman senator during a bitter primary battle in 2008.
After Clinton amassed the backing of enough delegates on Monday to clinch the nomination, Obama has been more open about his warm feelings for Clinton and his plans to play a major role in unifying the Democratic Party after Sanders mounted a surprisingly strong challenge.
The Clinton campaign released a video on Thursday afternoon with Obama expressing why he’s excited to hit the trail for Clinton.
Obama, insiders said, has been eager to begin campaigning for Clinton and his aides have positioned him as a strong surrogate to make an economic argument for his former secretary of state.
But Obama has already played an important role in Clinton’s campaign, even from the sidelines. Since day one of her campaign, she has highlighted the story of how two one-time rivals came together to serve their country — and the story of how he took her by surprise while she was taking a walk in the woods with her husband, Bill Clinton, by calling and asking her to serve as his secretary of state.
She’s invoked Obama in debates against Sanders, using him as a shield against the charge that she is beholden to Wall Street because of campaign donations she has accepted, pointing that Obama accepted them, too.
In the video, Obama made clear that he has no hesitation about Clinton’s readiness for the highest office. “From the decision we made in the Situation Room to get Bin Laden to our pursuit of diplomacy in capitals around, the world, I have seen her judgment, I have seen her commitment to our values up close,” he said. “I’ve seen her determination to give every American a fair shot at opportunity, no matter how tough the fight was. That’s what has always driven her and it still does. So I want those of you who have been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that I’m with her, I am fired up, and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.”
