President Obama will not automatically endorse Hillary Clinton now that she has formally declared her candidacy for president, the White House said Monday.
Press secretary Josh Earnest said that Obama and Clinton have “become friends” during Clinton’s years serving as secretary of State but “there are other people who are friends of of the president” who are considering their own campaigns.
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Obama on Saturday said Clinton would be “an excellent president.”
Earnest called Clinton an “effective” advocate for the president dating back to his 2008 general election campaign. He said that the president would support the Democratic presidential nominee, but will let voters decide who that is.
The spokesman denied any direct coordination between Clinton and the White House on her campaign message. The White House is launching a push this week on income inequality, the estate tax and equal pay for women, issues Clinton will likely focus on in her pitch to voters.
“That is something we have long envisioned making around Tax Day,” Earnest said of the White House effort. The decision was made “prior to the announcements of any of the candidates.”
Obama and Clinton met privately at the White House last month, but Earnest said he did not know if the two talked “in detail about her rollout plans.”