Obama to get more active in 2016 campaign

Look for President Obama to get more and more involved in the campaign to pick his successor.

While seeking to stay neutral in the Democratic race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Obama has begun speaking out against Republican front-runner Donald Trump and will amplify his remarks in the weeks and months ahead, officials said.

"The President has been clear that as we get closer to the general election, it will become even more important that the American people understand what is at stake," said White House spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman. "Do we continue to build on the policies that reward hard-working American families, advance our economic and national security, and address challenges for future generations, or do we stop in our tracks, reverse our progress and move in the wrong direction?"

She added: "This is a choice that the President does not take lightly, and is something he will lay out for the American people with increased frequency in the weeks and months ahead."

At some point, that will include an Obama endorsement of the Democratic candidate, though aides said that's not happening just yet.

Officials disputed reports that Obama all but endorsed Clinton during a recent fundraiser in Austin, Texas, noting that Sanders is still running.

Obama did cast a vote in this week's Illinois primary, but aides would not say who he voted for.

"What the President has said, both publicly and privately, is that he will have an important responsibility in the summer and fall, once the nomination process has concluded, in bringing the party together," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

Reports The Washington Post:

"Obama and his top aides have been strategizing for weeks about how they can reprise his successful 2008 and 2012 approaches to help elect a Democrat to replace him. And out of concern that a Republican president in 2017 — either Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) — would weaken or reverse some of his landmark policies, Obama and his surrogates have started making the case that it is essential for the GOP to be defeated in November.

"As a result, Obama is poised to be the most active sitting president on the campaign trail in decades."