Obama hits campaign trail for Hillary Clinton

President Obama returns to the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton Tuesday at a critical and awkward moment, with the candidate laid up with pneumonia and even top Democrats acknowledging that her campaign is in trouble.

Mr. Obama will attend a rally for the Democratic nominee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state where Mrs. Clinton’s lead over Republican Donald Trump has shrunk to six percentage points, down from nine points a month ago. Mrs. Clinton will stay home in New York, recuperating from the illness that caused her to buckle and nearly faint Sunday at a 9/11 memorial event.

The White House said Mr. Obama intends to make a “strong affirmative case” for Mrs. Clinton rather than spend time on damage control as concerns mount about her health and her slumping poll numbers.

Asked by reporters about the candidate’s health Monday in an Oval Office meeting with congressional leaders, Mr. Obama ignored the question and smiled.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden said Monday that Mrs. Clinton’s health is “good.” But he also acknowledged publicly a concern causing great anxiety for Democrats privately — that the Republican attacks on Mrs. Clinton are hitting their mark.

“One of the things that the Republicans have done very successfully so far is raise doubt about our candidate,” Mr. Biden said at the opening of a new Clinton campaign office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Implicit in Mr. Biden’s comments was the criticism, too, that her campaign has yet to introduce her strengths to voters.

“I want people to understand the Hillary I know,” Mr. Biden said. “I want them to know the woman I have known for over 35 years. I want them to understand the woman who understands it’s more than economics. It’s about peoples’ lives.”

Democrats also are still trying to explain away Mrs. Clinton’s description on Friday of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables.” Asked if Mr. Obama agrees with her characterization, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said brusquely on Monday, “It’s not the president’s phrase. She can describe the situation however she would like.”

The White House downplayed concerns about Mrs. Clinton’s health, saying she worked a grueling schedule as secretary of state and held up well to the physical demands of the job.

“They traveled around the world. She pulled long hours,” Mr. Earnest said. “She bore a significant burden both mentally and physically. She didn’t just succeed in that role, she thrived.”

Mr. Earnest said Mrs. Clinton’s collapse hasn’t changed the president’s opinion that she can handle the presidency.

“It certainly does not impact his assessment that she is the best person in the country to succeed him in the Oval Office,” he said.

The president’s spokesman said it’s the responsibility of the individual candidates to “make their own decisions” about how much of their medical records to release to the voters.

Mr. Biden said the Democratic nominee’s bout with pneumonia is not a big concern.

“Hillary’s health is good,” Mr. Biden said. “I’ve had walking pneumonia. What you do, you take antibiotics and you rest a little bit. So we’re in good shape. And I’m encouraging her — if the doctor says take three days off, take six days off. Take the time.”

Mrs. Clinton canceled a fundraising trip to California Monday after she collapsed. Her campaign said at first she was “overheated,” but her doctor later said she has pneumonia.

The vice president rejected accusations that Mrs. Clinton is deceiving the public about her health. “She’s been transparent about her health,” he said.

Mr. Trump has called Mrs. Clinton’s comment about his supporters being “deplorables” as the biggest political mistake of the year. Mr. Biden dismissed that notion.

“I’ve know Hillary a long, long, long time. She gets a bum rap,” Mr. Biden said. “For every time she will say something where she says, ’Well, maybe I should have said something different,’ think if they held Trump to that standard. He’d be in trouble. He is in trouble.”