Obama won't back candidate before primary

The White House says Barack Obama will be "out there" campaigning for the Democratic presidential candidate - but only after they've been nominated.

Source: AAP

US President Barack Obama will not publicly endorse a candidate before the 2016 Democratic primary election, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough has announced.

"We'll do exactly what has been done in the past," McDonough said on NBC's Meet the Press.

McDonough said Obama would be "out there" campaigning after the primary election to help support the Democratic candidate.