AP Photo White House: Obama thinks Clinton is qualified for president

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Barack Obama disagrees with Bernie Sanders: He thinks Hillary Clinton is qualified to be president, according to a top administration staffer.

“Yes,” White House principal deputy press secretary Eric Schultz said simply Thursday afternoon when asked whether the president thinks Clinton has what it takes to be president. “The president has said that Secretary Clinton comes to this race with more experience than any other non-vice president in recent campaign history.”


Speaking to reporters en route to Obama’s hometown, where the president planned to speak at the University of Chicago about his nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Schultz cited Clinton’s work with the president while she was secretary of state during his first term.

“He’s proud of that service,” Schultz said.

Asked what Obama made of Sanders dinging Clinton for being backed by the well-funded super PAC Priorities USA — the same super PAC that supported Obama in his 2012 reelection campaign — Schultz demurred.

“This is campaign season, and campaigns are going to trade barbs back and forth,” Schultz said.

Obama was at first reluctant to have a super PAC backing him, but he embraced it over the course of the campaign.