http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/282466-obama-endorses-clinton-for-presidentBy Jordan Fabian - 06/09/16 01:49 PM EDT
President Obama on Thursday formally endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, calling on Democrats to rally around their presumptive nominee and put her in the White House this fall.
The president unveiled his endorsement in a video where he said of Clinton, "I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office."
Clinton reacted to the endorsement on Twitter moments after the video was posted.
“Honored to have you with me, @POTUS. I'm fired up and ready to go!” she wrote.
Hillary Clinton
✔
@HillaryClinton
Honored to have you with me, @POTUS. I'm fired up and ready to go! -H
12:56 PM - 9 Jun 2016
Obama’s endorsement, which has long been expected, could provide a shot in the arm to Clinton’s White House bid.
Clinton has widely been viewed as Obama’s preferred candidate throughout the 2016 race. She served as his secretary of State for four years, and he heaped praise on her on multiple occasions during the Democratic primary.
But the president remained neutral until Clinton officially clinched enough delegates to secure the nomination, in an effort to build up cachet as the party’s uniter heading into the general election.
Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ran a vicious campaign that dragged on for more than a year, dividing their supporters. Obama and other top Democrats are expected to try and broker peace ahead of the party's convention in late July.
The president reportedly spoke by phone to Sanders over the weekend, a conversation seen as the beginning of the reconciliation effort.
Renowned for his political skills, Obama is expected to play a significant role on the campaign trail for Clinton, who has admitted she is not a “natural politician.”
Obama’s approval ratings are above 50 percent, rare for a two-term president in his final year in office. That makes him more popular than both Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump.
The president has already previewed his role as a top surrogate for Clinton, delivering a blistering critique of Trump during a recent speech in Elkhart, Ind.
“If what you care about in this election is your pocketbook, if what you’re concerned about is who will look out for the interests of working people and grow the middle class, if that’s what you’re concerned about, then the debate — then if that’s that you’re concerned about, the economy — the debate is not even close,” he said.
The political alliance between Obama and Clinton brings their sometimes-tumultuous relationship full circle.
Running as a young upstart candidate, Obama pulled off a stunning defeat of Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
Now serving as the head of the party, the president is working to ensure Clinton succeeds him in large part to preserve his presidential legacy.
