The president says nobody has ever been more qualified for the job than Hillary Clinton
In Charlotte , 5th June 2016,North Carolina President Barack Obama delivered a rousing endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s character and abilities on Tuesday, just hours after the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation sharply criticized her handling of classified emails while she served as his secretary of state.
In their first joint appearance on the campaign trail, the president showered praise on his onetime rival, hoping his rebounding popularity and strength on the stump will help give Mrs. Clinton the job he denied her eight years ago.
He also mocked Republican Donald Trump as a reality TV star who doesn’t understand the consequences of his words—or the enormity of the decisions that a president must make. Mrs. Clinton, he said, has been tested.
“My faith in Hillary Clinton has always been rewarded. I have had a front-row seat to her judgment and her toughness,” the president told the crowd at the Charlotte Convention Center. “There has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than Hillary Clinton—ever. And that’s the truth. That’s the truth.”
The event also underscored the tough road Mrs. Clinton faces in trying to succeed a two-term president of her own party. One message from the event was that her election as president would amount to an extension of Mr. Obama’s legacy and priorities on a range of issues such as immigration and the economy, areas where the president has often faced stiff opposition from Republicans.
At a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday night, Mr. Trump said he watched some of Mr. Obama’s remarks, and said the message of the visit was clear—that a Clinton White House would continue the Obama administration’s failed foreign policy and health-care law. “It’s going to be four more years of the same thing,” he said.
President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton arriving for a campaign event Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. PHOTO: JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
In her remarks, which served as an introduction for Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton heaped praise on the president and tied her own campaign to his in 2008. Referring to the nation’s founders, she said, “Nobody who looked like Barack Obama or me would have been included back then. But we’re here today because the story of America is the story of hard-fought, hard-won progress.”
The Clinton campaign had hoped the trip would mark a significant moment and boost for her campaign. In fact, it threatened to be overshadowed by the FBI’s unscheduled announcement Tuesday morning that it would recommend against criminal charges in connection with Mrs. Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state, despite what it found to be “extremely careless” handling of classified information.
En route to Charlotte, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest sidestepped questions about whether Mr. Obama agreed with the FBI’s assessment and repeated that the White House wasn’t involved in the investigation.
In their remarks in Charlotte on Tuesday, neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Obama addressed the email probe findings.
In their back-to-back speeches, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama spoke of how their 2008 primary contest gave way to a partnership, and then friendship, after Mr. Obama named her his first secretary of state.
Mr. Obama said his respect for Mrs. Clinton deepened during their hard-fought 2008 primary contest, as he came to know her as a fighter for her values and a tough worker who doesn’t quit. He also attempted to address her critics, saying her scars reflect a lifetime of battle for her ideals.
“Can I be blunt?” Mr. Obama asked the crowd. “Hillary’s got her share of critics. That’s what happens when you’re somebody who’s actually in the arena. That’s what happens when you’ve fought for what you believe in.”
He offered some further bluntness when he suggested that she’s been hurt because Americans “like new things,” something Mrs. Clinton, on the national stage for a quarter century, is not. He said that this very dynamic benefitted him in 2008. “They said, `oh, he’s new!’”
“Sometimes we take someone who’s been in the trenches and fought the good fight, and been steady, for granted,” he said, adding that Americans seem to want a freshness in presidents that they don’t demand in pilots or surgeons. As for Mr. Trump, he said, “”This is not a reality show. This is reality.”
Mr. Obama’s arrival on the campaign trail marked a rarity in presidential politics: He is the first incumbent president to actively campaign for his party’s next nominee in more than a half-century.
That is partly because incumbents often bring political baggage that their would-be successors would rather avoid, and at the start of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, many wondered if she would try to separate herself from the president. Winning a third term for the same party is a daunting challenge infrequently achieved and standing beside the president may suggest that her election amounts to a third term for Mr. Obama.
But with few exceptions, Mrs. Clinton has held the president tight, leaning heavily on their personal relationship and repeatedly vowing to carry on his agenda on health care, immigration, Wall Street regulation and more. That strategy helped her win her primary race against Sen. Bernie Sanders, in particular racking up large wins with African-American voters, which were critical to her victory.
Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have crept back into positive territory in recent months, and stand much higher than President George W. Bush’s ratings at the similar point of his administration. In 2008, Mr. Bush was so unpopular that GOP nominee John McCain was seen with him only twice—for a Rose Garden endorsement and then for less than one minute on an airport tarmac.
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton traveled to Charlotte together aboard Air Force One. Mr. Earnest suggested they might have discussed running-mate options and other campaign affairs along the way. “I would not be surprised if they do have an opportunity to discuss the ongoing a campaign. Secretary Clinton has lots of people who have good intentions who can offer her solid political advice. The president is among them,” he said.
The pair had originally planned to appear together last month in Wisconsin, a state Mr. Obama won twice and whose primary Mrs. Clinton lost. If Mr. Trump were to win in November, his path would likely run through the industrial Midwest, so the Clinton campaign sees an imperative to ensuring that Wisconsin stays Democratic.
The June event was canceled in the aftermath of the Orlando night club massacre, and then rescheduled for North Carolina, a signal that the Clinton campaign is feeling better about its chances in Wisconsin. Mr. Obama narrowly won North Carolina in 2008 but lost, again narrowly, in 2012.
Recent public polls in North Carolina show a close race, with Democrats having a narrow edge in November.
But Republicans head into the fall with wins in recent years—gaining control of the state Legislature in 2010, the governor’s mansion in 2012 and both U.S. Senate seats in 2014.
“Can Hillary Clinton win? Absolutely,” said Chris Sinclair, a GOP strategist who formerly advised Gov. Pat McCrory. “Is she a shoo-in? No. She’s not liked almost as much as Donald Trump.”
Mr. Trump’s nomination has been greeted coolly by some conservatives in the state, where he carried the March GOP primary by one of his smallest margins, barely topping Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. North Carolina GOP leaders have been slow to warm to him.
Carter Wrenn, a Republican strategist who led statewide campaigns for Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms, said he is not sure who to vote for in November. “I’m sort of like a lot of other Republicans,” he said. “I can’t possibly support Hillary, but I’m not crazy about Trump.” When asked what he plans to do, Mr. Wrenn sighed. “Wait for revelation?”
In her remarks, which served as an introduction for Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton heaped praise on the president and tied her own campaign to his in 2008. Referring to the nation’s founders, she said, “Nobody who looked like Barack Obama or me would have been included back then. But we’re here today because the story of America is the story of hard-fought, hard-won progress.”
The Clinton campaign had hoped the trip would mark a significant moment and boost for her campaign. In fact, it threatened to be overshadowed by the FBI’s unscheduled announcement Tuesday morning that it would recommend against criminal charges in connection with Mrs. Clinton’s use of private email as secretary of state, despite what it found to be “extremely careless” handling of classified information.
En route to Charlotte, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest sidestepped questions about whether Mr. Obama agreed with the FBI’s assessment and repeated that the White House wasn’t involved in the investigation.
In their remarks in Charlotte on Tuesday, neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Obama addressed the email probe findings.
In their back-to-back speeches, both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama spoke of how their 2008 primary contest gave way to a partnership, and then friendship, after Mr. Obama named her his first secretary of state.
Mr. Obama said his respect for Mrs. Clinton deepened during their hard-fought 2008 primary contest, as he came to know her as a fighter for her values and a tough worker who doesn’t quit. He also attempted to address her critics, saying her scars reflect a lifetime of battle for her ideals.
“Can I be blunt?” Mr. Obama asked the crowd. “Hillary’s got her share of critics. That’s what happens when you’re somebody who’s actually in the arena. That’s what happens when you’ve fought for what you believe in.”
He offered some further bluntness when he suggested that she’s been hurt because Americans “like new things,” something Mrs. Clinton, on the national stage for a quarter century, is not. He said that this very dynamic benefitted him in 2008. “They said, `oh, he’s new!’”
“Sometimes we take someone who’s been in the trenches and fought the good fight, and been steady, for granted,” he said, adding that Americans seem to want a freshness in presidents that they don’t demand in pilots or surgeons. As for Mr. Trump, he said, “”This is not a reality show. This is reality.”
Mr. Obama’s arrival on the campaign trail marked a rarity in presidential politics: He is the first incumbent president to actively campaign for his party’s next nominee in more than a half-century.
That is partly because incumbents often bring political baggage that their would-be successors would rather avoid, and at the start of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, many wondered if she would try to separate herself from the president. Winning a third term for the same party is a daunting challenge infrequently achieved and standing beside the president may suggest that her election amounts to a third term for Mr. Obama.
But with few exceptions, Mrs. Clinton has held the president tight, leaning heavily on their personal relationship and repeatedly vowing to carry on his agenda on health care, immigration, Wall Street regulation and more. That strategy helped her win her primary race against Sen. Bernie Sanders, in particular racking up large wins with African-American voters, which were critical to her victory.
Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have crept back into positive territory in recent months, and stand much higher than President George W. Bush’s ratings at the similar point of his administration. In 2008, Mr. Bush was so unpopular that GOP nominee John McCain was seen with him only twice—for a Rose Garden endorsement and then for less than one minute on an airport tarmac.
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton traveled to Charlotte together aboard Air Force One. Mr. Earnest suggested they might have discussed running-mate options and other campaign affairs along the way. “I would not be surprised if they do have an opportunity to discuss the ongoing a campaign. Secretary Clinton has lots of people who have good intentions who can offer her solid political advice. The president is among them,” he said.
The pair had originally planned to appear together last month in Wisconsin, a state Mr. Obama won twice and whose primary Mrs. Clinton lost. If Mr. Trump were to win in November, his path would likely run through the industrial Midwest, so the Clinton campaign sees an imperative to ensuring that Wisconsin stays Democratic.
The June event was canceled in the aftermath of the Orlando night club massacre, and then rescheduled for North Carolina, a signal that the Clinton campaign is feeling better about its chances in Wisconsin. Mr. Obama narrowly won North Carolina in 2008 but lost, again narrowly, in 2012.
Recent public polls in North Carolina show a close race, with Democrats having a narrow edge in November.
But Republicans head into the fall with wins in recent years—gaining control of the state Legislature in 2010, the governor’s mansion in 2012 and both U.S. Senate seats in 2014.
“Can Hillary Clinton win? Absolutely,” said Chris Sinclair, a GOP strategist who formerly advised Gov. Pat McCrory. “Is she a shoo-in? No. She’s not liked almost as much as Donald Trump.”
Mr. Trump’s nomination has been greeted coolly by some conservatives in the state, where he carried the March GOP primary by one of his smallest margins, barely topping Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. North Carolina GOP leaders have been slow to warm to him.
Carter Wrenn, a Republican strategist who led statewide campaigns for Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms, said he is not sure who to vote for in November. “I’m sort of like a lot of other Republicans,” he said. “I can’t possibly support Hillary, but I’m not crazy about Trump.” When asked what he plans to do, Mr. Wrenn sighed. “Wait for revelation?”
