President Obama will be fully engaged in helping a Democrat succeed him this year, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday.
“The president does have a strong desire to be succeeded by someone who will build on the progress we’ve made over the last seven or eight years,” Earnest continued. Obama will be “dedicating a significant portion of his time” to engaging in the campaign to make sure that happens, he added.
Earnest also said Obama won’t change how to pushes to keep a Democrat in office based on the polls. Recent polls show Donald Trump is virtually tied with Hillary Clinton both nationwide and in key swing states.
His “approach to this election will be the same, regardless of how close the polls indicate the race is,” Earnest said.
“The stakes are too high to take this election lightly,” Earnest said.
