Obama to hit the campaign trail for Biden ‘soon’ as race enters final weeks

By JOHN VERHOVEK, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — Former President Barack Obama is expected to hit the campaign trail “soon” for Joe Biden, his former vice president — a move that could help animate Democrats as the presidential race enters its pivotal final weeks.

“President Obama plans to hit the trail soon, in addition to all the other activities he’s undertaken all year in support of electing VP Biden – as he’s said, we all have to do everything we can to win on November 3,” an aide to the former president told ABC News.

Obama has participated in several fundraisers on behalf of Biden’s campaign and gave a primetime speech during the Democratic National Convention in which he excoriated President Donald Trump over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and extolled Biden’s leadership.

The former president has yet to travel to any of the traditional battleground states to campaign for Biden, mostly due to the greatly reduced in-person footprint the former vice president’s team has stuck to amid the ongoing pandemic.

Despite the pared-back on-the-ground presence, Democrats have remained eager to include the widely popular Obama in their messaging as they look to increase turnout, especially with most states already in the process of voting.

On Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee also released a video featuring Obama that encourages voters to learn about their options for voting with state-specific videos across 24 states, including key battlegrounds.

“So much is at stake in this election — from getting the pandemic under control to building a fairer economy to taking on climate change to protecting our health care,” Obama says in the video. “History shows that the easiest way to make sure that you and your friends vote is to make a plan. And when it comes to voting this year, having a plan has never been more important.”

Asked about Obama’s involvement on Tuesday as he was boarding his campaign plane en route to Florida, Biden told reporters that he believes his former boss is “doing enough” to support his campaign.

“He’s doing enough for our campaign, he’ll be out on the trail, and he’s doing well,” Biden said on the tarmac in New Castle, Delaware.

Biden has upped the pace of his travel in recent days, campaigning in Ohio on Monday and last week visiting Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania, all states that could prove key to a victory in the Electoral College.

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