Obama campaigns for Clinton in key state of Michigan

US President Barack Obama on Monday said at one of his last campaign rallies in the key state of Michigan that the people who supported him in the 2008 and 2012 elections need to "trust him" again and go vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Obama, who won the state in both his presidential election campaigns, directed his remarks to young people, African Americans and automobile workers, three groups that the Clinton campaign needs to mobilise to be able to triumph in Tuesday's election over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, EFE news reported.

"Michigan, whatever credibility I've earned after eight years as President, I am asking you to trust me on this one. I already voted. I voted for Hillary Clinton. Because I am absolutely confident that when she is President, this country will be in good hands," Obama told an enthusiastic crowd in Ann Arbor.

Clinton was also scheduled to campaign on Monday in Michigan, a traditionally Democratic state that her campaign team felt certain it would win until the polls began tightening recently, although the former Secretary of State still maintains a 5-point advantage over Trump.

Obama's visit shows the importance that the Democratic campaign assigns to its 16 electoral votes and its concerns that a significant portion of white working class voters could cast their ballots for Trump.

The President called upon voters not to be "bamboozled", adding that "in his 70 years on Earth, (Trump) has never shown any regard for working folks. I don't think he knows working people except for the folks who clean up in his hotels and the folks who mow the fairway on his golf course. He didn't care about working people then -- he won't now", if he becomes President.

Obama said he was feeling a little "sentimental" because this is the last time he would be out campaigning for anyone for some time, and he recalled his famous slogan "Yes, we can".

"America is not about what one person can do for you. I didn't say, 'Yes, I can', I said, 'Yes, we can'. I told you I wasn't a perfect man, wouldn't be a perfect President, but I said, I will work alongside you," he said, emphasising that Trump had always been a self-serving and self-centred businessman.

The President is also scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire on Monday, later travelling on to Philadelphia where he will appear with First Lady Michelle Obama, Clinton and her husband -- former President Bill Clinton -- her daughter Chelsea Clinton, along with singers Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi.

Meanwhile, Clinton made her first campaign stop of the day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a key state that does not have early voting, where she asked people attending her rally to vote thinking about their "future".

--IANS

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