President Obama said he is “ready to pass the baton” to Clinton, during his first appearance alongside Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 5.
“I’m here because I believe in Hillary Clinton,” said Obama in his first outing on the campaign trail this year. “And I want you to elect her to be the next president of the United States.”
It has been years since Obama and Clinton went head-to-head for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, in a “hard fought primary” as Clinton described it. After losing to Obama, she stepped out of his way and endorsed and campaigned for him. Now the president is doing the same for his colleague.
“There has been no man or women more qualified to be president than Hillary,” said Obama.
The president reminisced on the time they were rivals, admitting he was losing in the first half of the primary to a smart and prepared Clinton.
“I always had to be on my game,” he said.
Clinton admitted that she was surprised when Obama called on her to be secretary of state.
“We may have gone toe-to-toe, but we stood shoulder to shoulder,” Obama said, adding: “She was a great secretary of state.”
