President Obama has been reluctant to show his support for Clinton or Sanders, but has made statements that indicate his support is leaning towards Clinton. The current president commented on the Democratic race on Tuesday stating that “Clinton aligns more with my policies.”
The president talked at a press conference in California and continued to throw mixed signals behind his support, stating that “Clinton agrees with me more than Bernie,” but the well-spoken president quickly followed with “There are issues where Bernie agrees with me more.” Obama knows Clinton better as she served his administration, which may sway his support in her favor.
Clinton just won the Iowa primaries by a slim margin and lost by 22 percentage points to Sanders in New Hampshire. The two Democrats may have their differences, but they disagree with the Republican’s stance on important issues, according to Obama.
The current president states that “I will want to see how the primaries unfold further before giving my support to a candidate.” The support of Obama would be helpful to Clinton’s campaign and would likely boost her lead against Sanders. Clinton’s lead over Sanders in the polls has been shrinking, with another close primary heading into South Carolina. Support for Sanders would be a shock for many politicians at this point in the race.
President Obama stated that he will choose a candidate based on “hope and change.”
The death of Supreme Court Justin, Antonin Scalia, has occupied much of the president’s time as he stated “I haven’t studied Clinton’s or Sander’s positions closely enough to make a decision on who to support yet.”