US President Barack Obama has stepped in to defend a bruised and temporarily benched Hillary Clinton, hoping to reassure Democrats nervous both about their presidential candidate’s health and her handling of fresh trouble on her campaign, ABC news reported.

Speaking at an outdoor rally in a Democratic stronghold, 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.

"You want to debate who's more fit to be president? One candidate has traveled to more countries than any other secretary of state has. Has more qualifications than any candidate in history. And the other who isn't fit in any way shape or form to represent this country abroad or to be its commander in chief," Obama said.

“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.

He dismissed questions about Clinton's transparency, which arose after she kept quiet her pneumonia diagnosis for several days. Instead, he ripped into Trump's decision to withhold his tax returns, a historic break from precedent.

"You want to debate transparency? You've got one candidate in this race who's released decades' worth of her tax returns. The other candidate is the first in decades who refuses to release any at all," 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.”

To an audience of roughly 6000 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.

Greeted with chants of “thank you!,” the president sought to trade on that popularity. He told the crowd that he’s enthusiastically behind Clinton — and they should be, too — a sort of acknowledgment of lack of enthusiasm among the ranks about Clinton’s bid.

“Look, can I just say I am really into electing Hillary Clinton. Like this not me going through the motions here,” he said. “I really, really, really want to elect Hillary Clinton.”

Obama also appealed to Trump supporters. He tried to undermine the Republican businessman’s claim as a working-class hero. He accused Trump of being unprepared, unserious and “not a facts guy.” He seized on Trump’s praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Obama cast as an authoritarian strongman who controls the media and crushes dissent.

“Can you imagine Ronald Reagan idolising somebody like that?” Obama said, invoking the Republican icon.

“You don’t grade the presidency on a curve,” he said. “This is serious business.” Trump’s campaign met Obama with a statement suggesting he was shirking his duties.

Source: MENA