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Obama Scorches Trump In Return To Campaign Trail

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URBANA, Ill. (CBS/AP) —Former President Barack Obama has issued a scorching critique of his successor, accusing President Donald Trump of "capitalizing on resentments that politicians have been fanning for years."

Obama spoke at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign less than two months before midterm elections that could determine the course of Trump's presidency. The remarks amounted to a stinging indictment of political life in the Trump era.

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Obama says, "Telling people that order and security will be restored if it weren't for those who don't look like us or don't sound like us or don't pray like we do — that's an old playbook."

He is calling on "people of good will from across the political spectrum" to "call out the bigots and the fear-mongers."

The former president urged the audience, particularly young people, to vote in the upcoming elections and to be more involved.

"You need to vote, because our democracy depends on it," Obama tweeted before the event.

President Donald Trump claims he fell asleep watching former President Barack Obama's speech about the current political climate.

"I'm sorry, I watched it, but I fell asleep." He adds, "I found he's very good for sleeping," Trump says.

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Obama criticized Trump during a speech Friday in Illinois, calling the current president "the symptom, not the cause" of division and polarization in the U.S.

Trump responded during a campaign appearance in North Dakota, saying that Obama was trying to take credit for this "incredible thing that's happening to our country."

Trump went to talk about economic gains since he took office.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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