Barack Obama delivered a speech today in Illinois in which he referred to President Donald Trump as the “symptom,” not the “cause” for how America became so politically divided.

The former president used most of his speech to talk about America’s progression throughout history while encouraging people to get out and vote because “our democracy depends on it.” Eventually, he said that Trump’s political rise was made possible because of a long-existing trend of political upheaval throughout the country.

“Each time we painstakingly pull ourselves closer to our founding ideas…somebody, somewhere has pushed back,” Obama said. “It did not start with Donald Trump. He is a symptom, not the cause. He’s just capitalizing on resentments that politicians have been fanning for years. A fear, an anger that’s rooted in our past.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[Image via screengrab]

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