An inept Trump may help Hill more than prez

WASHINGTON — After a tough week that dealt a major blow to Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness numbers, President Obama will have a challenging task ahead of him when he appears with the Democratic front-runner today: convince voters that she is honest enough to sit in the Oval Office.

Obama, who is enjoying his highest job approval numbers in years, will fly Clinton on Air Force One to a rally in Charlotte, N.C., where he will deliver a speech focused on how Clinton went from being a bitter political rival to a trusted and close ally in his administration.

The underlying message: if he can change his mind about Clinton, so can voters.

But while Obama can provide Clinton with star wattage and act as a valuable character witness on her behalf, political experts warn that he won’t be able to change her image all by himself.

“In the end, that is up to her to pull off,” Democratic strategist Jim Manley said of Obama’s efforts to cast Clinton in a new light. “But it will show that he trusts her to be the next president of the United States.”

Recent polling suggests voters are still skeptical.

In a CBS News poll released last week, 62 percent of participants said Clinton was not honest or trustworthy. In a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 69 percent of respondents expressed concern about Clinton’s reputation for being untrustworthy.

But having the president stump on Clinton’s behalf for the first time will likely provide the former secretary of state with a much-needed boost.

“There is no question that Barack Obama is popular among Democrats and liberals, and he can help her unite the Democratic Party,” said Republican strategist and Mitt Romney campaign alum Ryan Williams.

But Obama hasn’t provided nearly as much help to Clinton’s campaign as GOP rival Donald Trump has in recent weeks, Williams said.

Trump failed to capitalize on the recent gaffes and bad optics that have plagued Clinton, from the rebuke by House Republicans in the long-awaited Benghazi Committee report, to being grilled by FBI officials investigating her use of a private email server while secretary of state, to former president Bill Clinton’s costly decision to meet privately with Attorney General Loretta Lynch at a Phoenix airport.

“For any candidate, it’s crucial to take advantage of opportunities that paint an opponent in a bad light,” Williams said. “But the Trump campaign so far has been completely incapable of doing that.”