Hillary Clinton may have been President Obama’s first Secretary of State, but she isn’t yet getting his endorsement.
Asked Monday whether her status as a vanquished rival and former Secretary of State means automatic support, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said no.
“As has been speculated by all of you and many others, there are other people who are friends of the president, who may at some point decide to get into the race,” Earnest said. “So the president has not offered up any sort of endorsement at this point.”
Obama later Monday afternoon told WBNS in Columbus, Ohio that it was a “little early for endorsements,” noting Clinton had only declared her candidacy on Sunday. But, he added, “she is talented, tenacious, was a great Secretary of State, she is a friend of mine and I think she would be an excellent president.”
And Earnest made it clear that once the nominee has been declared, the “Democratic nominee can be confident that they'll enjoy the support of President Obama.”
And he touted Clinton’s campaign prowess, saying Obama “obviously had an opportunity to see up close how effective a campaigner she can be. She was obviously a very formidable opponent in the 2008 contest for the Democratic nomination.”
He noted Clinton was a “very effective advocate” for Obama in 2008 and was a “very effective” Secretary of State and that two have become friends.
Not all Democrats are waiting for other candidates to get into the race: “I am all in for Hillary and will campaign for her in Florida and anywhere else she wants,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.