US President Barack Obama made a dramatic return to the campaign trail at Hillary Clinton’s side Tuesday, throwing his full weight - and compelling oratory - behind her bid to succeed him in the White House.
Obama has been off the campaign trail for years, but the president made a passionate case for Clinton in their first joint appearance of the 2016 race, as he celebrated her character and castigated her Republican rival Donald Trump.
“I’m here today because I believe in Hillary Clinton,” Obama told the rally in Charlotte, North Carolina taking place just hours after the FBI’s bombshell announcement that it will not recommend charges over Clinton’s email practices while she was Obama’s secretary of state.
US President Barack Obama embraces presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Charlotte. Photo: Reuters
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Barack Obama gave Hillary Clinton a rousing endorsement. Photo: AP
The two took the stage to ecstatic cheers from supporters, with Obama leading the crowd in chants of “Hillary! Hillary!” and the Democratic duo locking hands and raising them in a victory wave.
The pair travelled together on Air Force One for the first in a series of high-profile events intended to give the presumptive Democratic nominee a boost in her November showdown with Trump.
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“There has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office. Ever!” Obama told the crowd.
