The campaign for president of the United States moves to the southern U.S. state of North Carolina Tuesday as both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton hold events there.
Trump will be taking the stage at an evening rally in Raleigh, the state capital.
Hours earlier, Clinton will be 200 kilometers away in Charlotte as President Barack Obama makes his first appearance in support of the woman who served as secretary of state during his first term.
"Looking forward to hitting the campaign trail together," Clinton tweeted along with a video the president recorded last month endorsing her.
Eight years ago, Obama and Clinton competed in a tense primary fight that ended with Obama getting the Democratic Party's nomination and Clinton campaigning for him in the general election against Republican John McCain.
Now Obama is backing Clinton, seeking to keep a Democrat in the White House and prolong the policies his administration has championed. His support comes at a time when his job approval rating is higher than at any point in nearly four years.
Trump is not among those who think Obama is going a good job. In May, Trump called Obama "the worst president in U.S. history."
"He wants four more years of Obama -- but nobody else does!" Trump tweeted after the president endorsed Clinton.
The businessman has repeatedly criticized both of the Democrats for what he says are failures to adequately combat terrorism, particularly Islamic State, as well as Obama's domestic policies.
"Hillary Clinton will be a disaster on jobs, the economy, trade, healthcare, the military, guns and just about all else. Obama plus!" he said last month.
Obama has in turn criticized Trump's proposals. He said Trump's call to ban Muslims from the country would betray the U.S. heritage of racial, ethnic and religious pluralism and not be "the America we want."
Clinton and Trump are expected to be formally nominated when their parties hold conventions later this month. The big question still facing each is the selection of their vice presidential running mate.
Several U.S. political analysts say Trump's top choices former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who last held elected office in 1999, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who ran against Trump during this year's primaries before dropping out and endorsing him.
But Trump has not tipped his hand on his selection yet, instead meeting with other possible choices as well, including Indiana Governor Mike Pence on Sunday and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst on Monday.
Analysts say Clinton has a wide list of possible choices as well, including Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and New Jersey's Cory Booker, as well as two members of Obama's cabinet, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Housing Secretary Julian Castro.
