
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama recharged with a BBQ dinner following their first joint event of the election cycle.

The Secretary of State and US president - who has formally backed her to succeed him - shook hands and posed for pictures with customers as they placed their orders at the Midwood Smokehouse in North Carolina.

Hours earlier, Clinton was grinning from ear to ear as she appeared on stage with the president in front of a rapturous crowd in Charlotte.

She is 'fired up and ready to go' win November's election now that she doesn't have to worry about a possible federal indictment, Obama said.

The pair latched hands and lifted their hands and gave an upward punch as they posed for the cameras. Waving and pointing they made their way to center stage, the nation's first black president and the woman he hopes will replace him reveled in the spotlight.

The former secretary of state spoke first, showering praise on Obama, her 2008 rival, who she said she was 'very privileged' to have gotten to know throughout the last decade, as she introduced him.

The president is 'someone who has never forgotten where he came from,' Clinton said. Taking a jab at her current opponent, Donald Trump, she added, 'And Donald if you're out there tweeting its Hawaii.'

Obama also went after Trump for his prolific use of the social media platform, saying during his remarks, 'Everybody can tweet, but nobody actually knows what it takes to do the job until you've sat behind the desk.'

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Hillary Clinton (left) is 'fired up and ready to go' win November's election, President Obama (right) said today as he joined her on the campaign trail

The president and Secretary of State took a break from campaigning to grab a bite at the Midwood Smokehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina

Starstruck onlookers took photos and videos of the pair as they mused over the steakhouse menu

They rubbed shoulders with North Carolina locals soon after appearing on stage together in their first joint event of the election cycle

Earlier in the day, Hillary showered praise on Obama, her 2008 rival, who she said she was 'very privileged' to have gotten to know

Obama, who has formally backed Hillary, took a jab at her opponent Donald Trump by saying: 'Everybody can tweet, but nobody actually knows what it takes to do the job until you've sat behind the desk'

Clinton and Obama cut very casual figures as they shook hands and posed for photos with locals at the Midwood Smokehouse

Closing out his remarks before the photo opportunity at a local steakhouse, Obama said: 'I couldn’t be prouder than the things we’ve accomplished together

'I mean, Sasha tweets,' the president said, making a reference to his 15-year-old daughter. His daughter doesn't believe that's a qualification to sit behind the Resolute Desk, however, he said.

'You can't fully understand what it means to make life and death decisions until you've done it. That's the truth,' Obama stated.

Continuing, Obama said, 'But I can tell you this, Hillary Clinton has been tested. She's seen up close what's involved in making those decisions.'

She's been in the meetings at the White House and has seen the consequences of decisions that did not work well, Obama said. 'And there has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than Hillary Clinton - ever - and that's the truth.'

Closing out his remarks Obama noted that he is term-limed and said, 'I couldn’t be prouder than the things we’ve accomplished together, but I am ready to pass the baton.

'And I know that Hillary Clinton is going to take it. And I know she can run that race,' he said. 'And that's why I’m fired up! And that's why I'm ready to go! And that's why I’m with her!'

Neither Clinton nor Obama brought up the Justice Department's investigation to her secret server. The White House they did not discuss it on the flight down to North Carolina, either.

This morning FBI Director James Comey announced his recommendation that the Justice Department not bring charges against the former secretary of state.

What she did was 'extremely careless,' he said, but it is the FBI's opinion that 'no reasonable prosecutor' would bring a case against her.

United front: Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, showered praise on President Obama, her 2008 rival, who she said she was 'very privileged' to have gotten to know throughout the last decade, as she introduced him

Secret admirer: Obama said he was a Hillary convert after their 2008 battle, claiming he 'came away from that primary admiring her even more because during that year-and-a-half, I had a chance to see up close, just how smart she was and just how prepared she was'

Team Stop Trump: Clinton, who received a major boost when the FBI earlier recommended no charges against her over her email scandal hopes to reclaim North Carolina for the Democrats this November; Obama won in 2008 but lost it narrowly in 2012

Hillary Clinton is 'fired up and ready to go' win November's election now that she doesn't have to worry about a possible federal indictment

Eyes on the prize! Obama, who has apparently been impatient to begin campaigning, praised Clinton for being a 'great secretary of state' as he hit the ground running during an electric show in North Carolina

Best of frenemies! After months of waiting on the sidelines while Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled it out, Barack Obama hit the campaign trail with the presumptive Democratic nominee to inject some electricity into her campaign

Shot in the arm: Clinton's campaign breathed a sigh of relief after the FBI's announcement as she hailed Obama for going toe-to-toe and taking out Osama Bin Laden back in 2011

Relief: Clinton was grinning from ear to ear as she took to the stage the President at their first joint event of the election cycle. President Obama, who is released from the shackles of campaigning again, will be used in the coming months to attack Donald Trump

WHAT OBAMA SAID ABOUT.... Hillary's tenacity: 'She didn’t give up. She didn’t pout. She just kept on going. She was the Energizer Bunny. She just kept on.' Her fitness for secretary of state: 'I knew she would do a great job. I knew she would perform.' Clinton's heart: 'I saw how she treated everybody with respect, even the folks who aren't “important.” That's how you judge somebody. It’s how do they treat somebody when the cameras are off and they can't do anything for you.' The former secretary of state's constitution: 'We need Hillary’s steadiness and her levelheadedness, and her brilliance and her temperament right now.' The type of military leader she would be: 'She’ll deploy diplomacy whenever possible, but she also knows what it takes to be a Commander-in-Chief, and I know she will never hesitate to use force when it is necessary to protect us.' Criticism of Clinton: 'I'm going to be blunt. You know, Hillary has got her share of critics. That’s what happens when you’re somebody who’s actually in the arena. 'That’s what happens when you’ve fought for what you believe in. That’s what happens when you dedicate yourselves to public service over the course of a lifetime.' Public perception of the former first lady: 'Sometimes Hillary doesn’t get the credit that she deserves.' Clinton's secret server: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING Advertisement

A spokesman for Clinton said in a statement afterward, 'We are pleased that the career officials handling this case have determined that no further action by the Department is appropriate.

'As the Secretary has long said, it was a mistake to use her personal email and she would not do it again, ' said Brian Fallon, a former Justice Department flak who now serves as national press secretary for Clinton's presidential campaign. 'We are glad that this matter is now resolved.'

The matter has not been 'resolved' yet, however. The FBI recommended that Justice Department prosecutors not pursue charges, but Attorney General Loretta Lynch has yet to formally weigh in.

A spokesman for the State Department acknowledged the fact this afternoon at his daily briefing, telling reporters asking about the probe, 'We need to wait and see what the Justice Department decides to do now in the wake of the FBI investigation before we move forward one way or another.'

The White House was also careful not to get stuck with the hot potato. The president's spokesman dodged questions on the way to North Carolina about Comey's assertion that Clinton was 'extremely careless' with her handling of classified material.

'The president is aware of the news,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One that the White House did not know that Comey would act on the matter today. With the case under review at the Justice Department, the president's spokesman was wary about wading any further into the issue.

'People might conclude that the president has a lot of personal affection for Secretary Clinton. People might conclude that the president has a lot invested in the success of her campaign.

With regard to the ongoing work at the Department of Justice, we have made clear time and time again that neither President Obama nor the White House is involved in that investigation,' Earnest said.

In her corner: Obama's campaigning for Hillary is as strong an endorsement from a sitting President in years; in recent years the likes of John McCain suffered because of President George W Bush's unpopularity while before him Al Gore distanced himself from Bill Clinton

Embarrassing dad: At one point during his stump speech, President Obama appeared to give away that his teenage daughter Sasha in fact tweets, as he took a shot at Donald Trump - 'Everybody can tweet, but nobody knows what it takes to do the job until you've sat behind the desk. I mean, Sasha tweets'

Ready to pass the baton! Obama said he had run his last campaign but he was looking forward to handing the keys of the White House over to Mrs Clinton after eight years, his former secretary of state

Showdown in the Tarheel State: An energized Obama again used his speech to hit out at Trump, calling him 'the other guy' and dismissing the presumptive Republican nominee by saying it is 'not a reality show'

Silence is golden: At no time in her remarks did Hillary bring up the Justice Department's investigation into her secret server. The White House said that she did not discuss it with President Obama on their flight down

The president is 'someone who has never forgotten where he came from,' Clinton said. Taking a jab at her current opponent, Donald Trump, she added, 'And Donald if you're out there tweeting its Hawaii'

Always time for some BBQ: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton stop for lunch at the Midwood Smokehouse following their campaign event in Charlotte; they ordered some food and greeted and surprised customers with hugs and handshakes; Obama compliment North Carolina for its good food during his speech

The presumptive Democratic nominee's campaign breathed a sigh of relief today nonetheless as it prepared for its first event with Obama and Clinton.

As Clinton's campaign chair John Podesta deplaned Air Force One, he told reporters in North Carolina, 'It's a great day.'

Clinton was in high spirits, too, as she introduced Obama at her rally. She hailed him for going toe-to-toe with foreign leaders and taking out Osama bin Laden. Obama has kept America 'safe and strong,' she said.

'Compare that to Donald Trump. Can you imagine him sitting in the Oval Office the next time America faces a crisis?' she asked her audience. 'Donald Trump is simply unqualified and temperamentally unfit to be our president and commander in chief,' she said to loud cheers.

Bringing it home, Clinton said, 'So here in North Carolina this election is our chance to say our country is better than this.'

Clinton said she would 'build on the vision for America that President Obama has always championed' if she wins the White House.

'When I look at President Obama, I see a leader with heart, depth, and humility. Someone who, in spite of the obstruction he’s faced, still reaches for common ground and common purpose,' she said.

The Democrat said she'd build bridges instead of walls like the one promised by Trump on the border with Mexico.

'We don't call the country we love a disaster or a laughing stock. We know America is already the greatest country on earth,' she proclaimed.

The Oval Office brought up the early patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Democrats will hold their nominating convention later this month and said, 'they knew we would all rise or fall together.'

'Now nobody who looked like Barack Obama or me would have been included back then, but we're here today because the story of America is the story of hard-fought, hard won progress,' she said, eliciting an uproarious applause and cheers of her name.

Hillary Clinton walks off of Air Force One with US president Barack Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina

The president is 'someone who has never forgotten where he came from,' Clinton said today

Let's do this: Obama appeared champing at the bit to get out on the campaign trail; Like many Democrats presumed at the start of the campaign, the nomination would have been long wrapped up, a testimony to the tenacious campaign run by Bernie Sanders

Obama gave Clinton a ride - that her campaign has to pay for - to North Carolina this afternoon on Air Force One; Donald Trump had earlier incredulously asked who was paying for the flight

Clinton told the large audience, packed into the Charlotte Convention Center, 'I don't know about you, but we are fired up and ready to go,' borrowing Obama's 2008 slogan, 'ready to win this election.'

Obama had been sitting casually on a stool as Clinton talked him up. He joined in chants of 'Hillary' as he took his turn at the mic.

'I'm fired up. Hillary got me fired up! She got me ready to do some work,' said Obama, reciting his 2008 chant.

The president recalled another time he and Clinton campaigned together, in 2008, as they transitioned from enemies to friends after their bitter primary that year. 'We went to Unity, New Hampshire -- just in case people missed the point,' Obama said today.

He professed to have admired her when they served in the U.S. Senate together and said, 'I came away from that primary admiring her even more.'

In the 18 months they were competing for the Democratic nomination, Obama said he 'saw the passion that she feels for anybody who’s experienced injustice, anybody who’s faced discrimination, anybody who does everything right and still can’t seem to get a fair shot, whether it was workers who had lost their jobs, or kids unable to afford college.'

'And you could tell it was personal to her because she had seen struggles in her own life. She had known challenges in her own life. And she could identify and empathize with people who were doing the right thing and wanted to make sure that they got a fair shake.'

Obama said that he 'had a front-row seat to her judgment, and her toughness, and her commitment to diplomacy' when she served as his secretary of state.

'I saw how deeply she believes in the things she fights for. And I saw how you can count on her, and how she won't waver and she won't back down. And she will not quit, no matter how difficult the challenge and no matter how fierce the opposition,' he said, complimenting the former first lady and U.S. senator.

Last month, as the Democratic primary ended, Obama endorsed Clinton in the battle for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. No fan of Republican Donald Trump, the outgoing president committed to campaigning for his former Senate colleague.

Today he said of the election, 'This isn’t even really a choice between left and right, or Democrat or Republican. This is a choice between whether we are going to cling to some imaginary past, or whether we're going to reach for the future. This is about whether we have an America that works for everybody, or just a few people.'

As he ticked off the policies Clinton is proposing - a higher minimum wage, paid sick and family leave, equal pay for equal work - Obama absolved himself of responsibility for not having accomplished those things already.

'The fact that we haven’t gotten all these ideas done, it's not the fault of immigrants or unions, or some liberal socialist scheme. It's very simple: Republicans in Congress and Republican governors have been blocking these ideas for the last eight years. It’s that simple,' he charged.

Happy Huma? Hillary's top aide Abedin can't wipe the smile off her face after her boss dodged a bullet earlier in the day; this is despite the FBI saying that Hillary and the State Department had been 'extremely careless with very sensitive, highly classified information'

Sweet relief! James Comey, the director of the FBI, announced just hours before the rally that the bureau will not recommend federal prosecution of Clinton for her use of a private email server to store what turned out to be thousands of classified documents in her emails

He reiterated his point a few minutes later. Obama acknowledged that he was going off script as he said: 'If your concern is working people, then this is not a choice.

'I don’t care whether you're white, black, Hispanic, Native American, polka-dot, male, female. I don’t care.

'If what you care is who's going to be fighting for ordinary folks who are fighting for a better life for themselves and their children, then I don’t know how you vote for the guy who's against the minimum wage, against unions, against making sure that everybody gets a fair shot, against legislation for equal pay, against sick leave and family leave -- against all the things that working families care about.'

Obama said, 'So if you're voting for the other team, it's not because of the economy. It's not because of the economy. You got to be clear about that.'

'Even the Republicans on the other side don’t really know what the guy is talking about,' he said, the room filling with laughter. 'They really don’t. They really don’t. If you ask them -- they're all like, "I don’t know." Then they got to duck the other way.'

Continuing to hammer Trump, who he never referred to by name, Obama said 'the other guy talks about making America great again. America is really great.'

Surveys show that more people in the world thing America is great since he took power, Obama boasted. 'They think we're the strongest. They think we're the best-positioned. We were in a hole before I came into office. But right now, the world -- the rest of the world thinks we're pretty darn great.'

'And, by the way, you can look that up. That's a fact. That's not like just something I just made up and tweeted,' he said, taking another slap at Trump. 'So there are actually like surveys done. They poll people so you actually know what people think. You don't just assert it. And it turns out that's what they think. You can look it up.'

And the reason that so many people think America is doing better than before is because 'we had an outstanding Secretary of State,' he said. 'Part of the reason is, is that Hillary understood and continues to understand that just a bunch of tough talk doesn’t replace the hard work of diplomacy.

'A bunch of phony bluster doesn’t keep us safe,' he said, 'and she understands we can't retreat from a world that needs American leadership.'

Unlike her opponent, Obama said, 'You never heard Hillary Clinton demonize other people....You ask about folks in the Senate who were on the other side -- they liked working with her. Even though some of them have done everything they could to tear her down when she was First Lady, she still worked with them.'

'And that brand of leadership is how we're going to get things done,' he said.

Clinton told the large audience, packed into the Charlotte Convention Center, 'I don't know about you, but we are fired up and ready to go,' borrowing Obama's 2008 slogan. We are 'ready to win this election,' she said. Obama took the mic and said he's fired up, too, after listening to Clinton

Obama warned Americans once again that the race for the White House 'is not a reality show - this is reality.' As president, 'when a crisis hits, you can’t just walk off the set. You can't fire the scriptwriter. You can't be reckless.

'You don’t have the luxury of just saying whatever pops into your head. You’ve actually got to know what you’re talking about. You’ve got to actually do your homework. You can't just kick out reporters,' he said. 'You can't go to another country, and if they ask you a question you don't like, just kick them out ...because you're in another country.'

The seven-year veteran of the job said that to be a successful leader, 'You’ve got to apply steady judgment, even when things don’t go your way. You got to make the tough calls, even when they’re not popular, and even when they won’t pay off right away, or increase your poll numbers. You’ve got to be able to handle criticism, without taking it personally. You just got to brush it off and get the job done.

'That’s some of what I’ve learned while serving as your President. That’s some of what Hillary has learned as a senator and as Secretary of State. And that’s why I’m voting for Hillary Clinton to be the next President of the United States.'

Today was Clinton's second trip to North Carolina in the last two weeks. A battleground state that Obama won in 2008 and lost in 2012, Clinton is trying to make the pendulum swing back in her direction.

Espousing his love for North Carolina - a state he said has great food, great people and great college basketball - Obama said this afternoon that he intended to stop in a local BBQ place before he returned to Washington, D.C.

He made good on that promise later, taking Clinton to Midwood Smokehouse, a few minutes away from the afternoon's rally site, for an early dinner before they went their separate ways.

The president ordered pulled pork, brisket and a few sides, his aides said. Clinton ordered a chicken and ribs combo from the establishment.

'NOT HAVING IT: Between the Attorney General’s private meeting with Bill Clinton last week, to President Obama’s active support for Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, the American people will rightly be left second guessing whether justice was really served,' RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement

The former Obama administration official was just beginning a speech at the National Education Association in Washington, D.C. this morning when Comey presented the FBI's findings at a press conference and made no acknowledgement in her address of the breaking news.

Speaking from the FBI's headquarters in Washington, Comey said his bureau found no evidence that Clinton or her lawyers 'intentionally deleted' government emails from her private email address and server that they did not first provide to State.

Comey said, 'Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.'

At least seven email chains contained information that Comey said 'any reasonable person' in Clinton's position 'should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.'

Still, he said, the FBI could not find any previous cases that dealt with the mishandling of classified information 'that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts.'

The law enforcement official warned, however, that the bureau's findings are not meant to 'suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences.

'To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions,' he stated. 'But that is not what we are deciding now.'

Republican White House candidate Donald Trump said the Obama administration official showed 'bad judgement' in deciding that the Justice Department should not indict Clinton.

'The system is rigged. General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment,' Trump said Twitter immediately after the declaration.

He said in a follow up tweet: 'FBI director said Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges. Wow! #RiggedSystem'

The Republican National Committee said that while the FBI head said not to prosecute Clinton the bureau's 'findings are a glaring indictment of Hillary Clinton’s complete lack of judgment, honesty, and preparedness to be our next commander-in-chief.'

The national party contended that Obama's Justice Department was 'never going to prosecute Clinton’s criminal behavior because they are counting on her to deliver their failed agenda a third term.'

'Between the Attorney General’s private meeting with Bill Clinton last week, to President Obama’s active support for Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, the American people will rightly be left second guessing whether justice was really served,' Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.

The Obama White House had long said that it was not involved in the FBI's investigation and that the president's endorsement of Clinton would have no bearing on the law enforcement agency's probe.

Comey's well-timed announcement on Tuesday, which the White House said today that it did not know about, did however put Clinton in the clear before she hopped aboard the president's plane for the relatively short flight to Charlotte.

It also ensured that the White House would not get questions on the matter on camera until Wednesday.