Former president Barack Obama

Former president Barack Obama encouraged voters to hit the polls this November, saying during a speech at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Friday that “this moment in our country is too perilous for voters to sit out.”

At one point, Obama said voters shouldn’t stay home just because they “don’t feel sufficiently inspired” by a particular candidate. “You cannot sit back and wait for a savior,” Obama remarked. “You can’t opt out because you don’t feel sufficiently inspired by this or that particular candidate. This is not a rock concert. This is not Coachella. We don’t need a messiah. All we need are decent, honest, hard-working people who are accountable and who have America’s best interests at heart”.



During a speech today, Barack Obama encouraged Americans to vote this November, saying: "This is not Coachella. We don't need a messiah. All we need are decent, honest, hard working people who are accountable and who have America's best interests at heart" https://t.co/1cQQH576cp pic.twitter.com/SXVxcqZoQM — Consequence of Sound (@consequence) September 7, 2018

During his speech, Obama also railed against current president Donald Trump for “capitalizing on resentment that politicians have been fanning for years,” as well as for demonizing America’s free press as enemies of the state, stoking fear and lying to the American public, and implementing discriminatory polices. He also criticized Republicans in Congress for failing to hold Trump accountable. You can watch Obama’s full speech below.