Obama looks to slam the door on Trump in North Carolina

President Obama pleaded with voters to get out and vote for Hillary Clinton at a primetime rally in North Carolina Friday evening, as he looked to help the Clinton campaign shore up declining early voting among African-Americans in the Tarheel State.

In 2008, Obama became the first Democrat to carry North Carolina in more than 30 years. He fell short to Mitt Romney there by the slimmest of margins in 2012.

It appears the swing state — which is a must-win for Donald Trump if he’s going to take the White House — is once again headed for a photo finish, and Democrats are hopeful that the popular president will push them over the top there and suck any drama out of the race on Election Day. 

Wearing a tie but no coat and with his sleeves rolled up, a relaxed Obama joked and engaged in back-and-forth with the crowd.

But he also sought to communicate the gravity of Tuesday’s vote, saying his legacy will be on the line.

“This should not be a close race, but it’s going to be a close race,” Obama said. “It will be especially close here in North Carolina. I want everyone to understand, all the progress we’ve made, everything we’ve fought for and aspire to — all that goes out the window if we don’t win this election. We’ve got to work our hearts out this week, over the next four days, like the future depends on it. Because our future depends on it.” 

North Carolina was once a Republicans stronghold, but shifting demographics — including a growing African-American population — have turned it into a purple state.

Polls show North Carolina could go either way in 2016. Trump leads by only 1 point in the RealClearPolitics average. 

The Clinton campaign held a conference call with reporters on Friday to boast about how Hispanic turnout had helped them build significant early-voting leads in North Carolina, Florida, and Nevada. 

The one soft spot they acknowledged was among black voters in North Carolina, saying that early voting was down by 6 percent from 2012.

Obama could help rectify that for the Clinton campaign. He is beloved by African—Americans and remains popular nationwide as he prepares to leave office.

On Friday evening in Charlotte — his second rally of the day in North Carolina — Obama acknowledged that many voters may not be inspired to go to the polls following a brutal campaign.

But he implored voters to “block out the noise” and get out anyway.

“I know in North Carolina you’re tired of all those ads on TV, it just gets you depressed,” Obama said. “And there’s so much noise and distraction that has nothing to do with your lives … There’s a temptation for you to just tune it out. But I want you to focus on the choice we face in this election.”

“There is a reason why in unprecedented fashion, you have Republicans and conservatives who are not running for office … to denounce Donald Trump,” Obama continued. “The reason is because Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified to be president. Is temperamentally unfit to be commander in chief. The fact he has gotten this far tells me the degree to which politics has become like a bad reality TV show.” 

Obama tore into Trump for lacking basic foreign policy knowledge. 

The president ripped Trump’s business practices, accusing him of being a tax dodger and of stiffing his contractors and those who work for him. 

And Obama warned that Trump would be a danger to the nation with the nuclear codes.

But his most impassioned attack against Trump was over the GOP nominee’s treatment of women.

Trump, Obama said, “brags about how being famous allows him to get away with something that is the definition of sexual assault.”

“I have two magnificent daughters because I have a magnificent wife,” Obama said. “They are strong, and they are smart and full of character, and they are kind, and there’s nothing they cannot do. We have taught them not to just respect others, but themselves. The idea we’d put in place in the most prominent and powerful place in the land someone who undermines that? The worst part about it is we’ve begun to treat this as if it’s normal.”