Barack Obama to campaign for Hillary Clinton in North Carolina next week

US President Barack Obama will make his 2016 campaigning debut for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in North Carolina next week, where they will jointly appear for an election rally.

The July 5 Clinton rally in Charlotte, North Carolina would be the first time that Obama would campaign for his former secretary of state since she announced her run for the White House and who aspires to replace him at the White House.

Obama endorsed Clinton for president earlier this month. "In Charlotte, President Obama and Hillary Clinton will discuss building on the progress we've made and their vision for an America that is stronger together," the Clinton Campaign said in a statement.

Obama narrowly won North Carolina in 2008, but lost the state in 2012 to Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Democrats held their national convention in Charlotte in 2012.

In his video endorsement of Clinton, Obama had said, "I've seen her determination to give every American a fair shot at opportunity, no matter how tough the fight - that's what's always driven her, and still does."

Obama is likely to enter into a full-fledged election mode in support of Clinton in the coming weeks. They were likley to begin their joint campaign appearance for the 2016 election on June 15 in Wisconsin, but that was postponed due to a massacre in Orlando, Florida - the worst mass shooting in US history.