Obama Visits New York For Fundraiser After Stumping For Clinton In Philadelphia
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- President Barack Obama was in New York City Tuesday evening for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser.
Obama attended the fundraiser at the home of hedge-fund founder Jim Chanos.
Earlier Tuesday, Obama was in Philadelphia stumping for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
"This is not just me going through the motions here," President Barack Obama said at a campaign event in Philadelphia. "I really, really, really want to elect Hillary Clinton."
Obama also aimed his fire at Donald Trump.
"This isn't Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party. This isn't even the vision of freedom that Ronald Reagan talked about," Obama said. "This is a dark, pessimistic vision."
Obama praised Clinton as the most qualified candidate ever to seek the office and mocked her opponent Donald Trump as ``not fit in any way'' to lead. He suggested Clinton was again the victim of unfair treatment and a scandal machine that has dogged her throughout her long political career.
``What sets Hillary apart is that through it all she just keeps on going and she doesn't stop caring and she doesn't stop trying and she never stops fighting for us even if we haven't always appreciated it,'' Obama said. ``I understand, we're a young country, we are a restless country. We always like the new shiny thing. I benefited from that when I was a candidate, and we take for granted sometimes what is steady and true. And Hillary Clinton is steady and she is true.''
The remarks were the closest Obama came to mentioning Clinton's rough weekend, during which she disparaged ``half'' of Trump supporters and then backtracked somewhat on her remarks. She also was forced to abruptly leave an event because of an illness she had not disclosed. Clinton was caught on video struggling to stay on her feet. Her campaign later said she been diagnosed with pneumonia. Clinton canceled campaign events this week to recover.
The incident and the campaign's attempt to keep the diagnosis secret revived long-held concerns about Clinton's tendency to hunker down during a crisis, making matters worse.
Clinton spent the day reading briefing material, making calls and watching Obama's speech from her home in Chappaqua, New York, her campaign said. She's due back on the campaign trail Thursday.
To an audience of roughly 6,000 supporters in downtown Philadelphia, Obama argued that Clinton has been more transparent in providing health and financial records than her rival, as well as releasing her past tax returns while Trump refuses to release his.
Obama said the Clinton Foundation has ``saved countless lives around the world,'' while Trump used his charity to buy ``a six-foot-tall painting of himself,'' Obama said, referencing a Washington Post investigation of Trump's charity.
``I mean, you know, he had the taste not to go for the 10-foot version,'' he said.
Obama is seeking to generate momentum for Clinton in a race that has become uncomfortably close for many Democratic supporters. The latest poll by Quinnipiac University found her with a 5 percentage-point edge over Trump in Pennsylvania.
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