President Obama is sprinting to the finish line ahead of Election Day, planning to spend almost every day on the road during the final week of the campaign making a closing argument for Hillary Clinton and Democrats, according to White House officials.
Obama has “an aggressive travel schedule for the 12 days between now and Election Day,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday.
{mosads}Details of the president’s schedule have not been released. But Earnest hinted he could make a return visit to Florida. Obama is already scheduled to campaign Friday in Orlando, a trip that comes on the heels of a stop last Thursday in Miami.
An aide said the push will also include outreach to young voters on late-night shows, online outlets and radio interviews. Obama will appear next week on late-night comedian Samantha Bee’s television show, “Full Frontal,” which is popular with millennials.
The push shows Obama does not want to leave anything to chance in ensuring Clinton succeeds him in the White House. The battleground map leans in Clinton’s favor, although surveys in several swing states show the race is tightening.
“The president feels good about the trajectory of this race,” Earnest said. “The president is just as determined to make sure that no one feels complacent, and particularly not supporters of Secretary Clinton.
“So he’s going to go out there and make an important case that the only way that Secretary Clinton loses the race is if her supporters don’t do their job and don’t go to the polls and show up for her.”
The president also wants to deliver a sharp rebuke to Republican nominee Donald Trump’s brand of politics and hardball tactics, including his controversial claim the election could be unfairly tilted against him.
“We don’t just want to eke it out — particularly when the other guy is already starting to gripe about how the game is rigged,” he told donors Monday in La Jolla, Calif.
Obama has been a major force on the trail for Clinton, headlining rallies in battleground states and raising money for her multiple times per week during the campaign’s homestretch.
Clinton has benefitted from Obama’s strong approval ratings and his skills on the stump. The Democratic nominee has long acknowledged she is not a natural politician while the president has relished the chance to hit the trail during the 2016 race, even though his name is not on the ballot.
“Having an opportunity to travel across the country and address large enthusiastic crowds who are clearly excited to see him out on stump — it’s fun,” Earnest told reporters Tuesday. “He gets a lot of energy from that.”
Trump is well aware of Obama’s presence on the trail, hitting the president at campaign events for spending time stumping for Clinton instead of working.
The president’s schedule also underscores his desire to help Democrats running in down-ballot races, in part by tying their Republican opponents to Trump and his inflammatory statements about women and minorities.
Obama’s focus on Florida is also designed to tilt the state’s competitive Senate race pitting incumbent Republican Marco Rubio against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D).
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has scrapped ad reservations from the race, allocating money to other competitive races. But the president is still making a personal push to elect Murphy.
During recent stops in Ohio, Florida and Nevada, the president has slammed GOP Senate candidates for accepting Trump’s behavior, whether they have disavowed him or not.
Obama recently said at a Las Vegas rally for Clinton and Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto that her opponent, Rep. Joe Heck (R), shouldn’t receive praise for renouncing Trump, especially since he told donors behind closed doors he “really” wants to support him.
“So how does that work?” Obama asked. “You’re for him, but you’re not for him. But you’re kind of for him. What the heck?”
The president’s campaign work isn’t limited to going on the road.
He’s cut television ads for at least six Senate candidates and at least five House hopefuls, plus radio ads for nine congressional candidates.
Obama wrapped up a fundraising schedule this week that included 21 events for Democratic Senate, House and gubernatorial campaign committees, and he has endorsed 150 people seeking state legislative seats.
Earnest said Thursday Obama is also recording robocalls for down-ballot candidates.