Presumptive Democratic White House nominee Hillary Clinton says US President Barack Obama will join her on the campaign trail for the first time next week, as a new poll shows a tightening race with Republican Donald Trump.
Their debut joint campaign appearance for the 2016 election had been scheduled for June 15 in Wisconsin, but was postponed due to the massacre in Orlando, Florida — the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
Mr Obama endorsed Mrs Clinton on June 9 after months of assiduously avoiding tipping the scales of the Democratic presidential primaries.
"I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office," Mr Obama said in a video message that day as he offered his full-throated endorsement of the former secretary of state, senator and first lady.
"I'm with her, I am fired up, and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary," added Mr Obama, who won a brutal, months-long Democratic primary battle against Mrs Clinton in 2008.
Trump narrows gap on Clinton
The Democrat's joint appearance the day after the July 4 Independence holiday comes with US Senator Bernie Sanders refusing to bow out of the nomination race, despite Mrs Clinton amassing the necessary number of delegates to clinch outright victory at next month's party nominating convention.
But Mrs Clinton has moved on, turning the entirety of her effort towards what is expected to be a bruising showdown with Mr Trump as she aims to make history as the nation's first female commander in chief.
The presidential race is too close to call, with the brash billionaire narrowing the gap with Mrs Clinton, according to the latest Quinnipiac University national poll.
Respondents put Mrs Clinton ahead of Mr Trump just 42 per cent to 40 per cent, a narrowing from Mrs Clinton's four-point margin in the organisation's June 1 survey.
Eighteen per cent gave no answer or said they would vote for someone else, or said they would not vote.
The poll is considerably closer than the 12-point advantage to Mrs Clinton an ABC News/Washington Post poll published on Sunday which highlighted the Democrat's capitalising on Mr Trump's recent missteps.
The Quinnipiac survey notably showed that 61 per cent believe the 2016 election "has increased the level of hatred and prejudice" across the country.
Of that group, two thirds blame the Trump campaign, with just 16 per cent blaming Mrs Clinton's team.
Meanwhile, respected election data analyst and FiveThirtyEight.com founder Nate Silver, who correctly predicted 50 out of 50 states in the 2012 presidential election, on Wednesday said Mrs Clinton was a 75 or 80 per cent favourite over Mr Trump.
"She's taking a seven-point, maybe a 10-point lead into halftime," Mr Silver told ABC's Good Morning America.
"There's a lot of football left to be played, but she's ahead in almost every poll, every swing state, every national poll."
AFP
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