• Former President Barack Obama on Friday made a rare mention of President Donald Trump.
• Obama delivered a speech at the University of Illinois urging young people to participate in the 2018 midterm elections.
• The former president said Trump is “a symptom, not the cause” of the divisiveness plaguing US politics.
• Obama emphasised to the students the “stakes really are higher” regarding this year’s midterms.

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Former President Barack Obama on Friday took direct aim at President Donald Trump for the first time since leaving office, in a speech at the University of Illinois in which he urged young people to participate in the 2018 midterm elections.

Obama told students they were coming of age during a divisive period in US history in which the powerful seek to divide to maintain the status quo.

The former president said Trump is “a symptom, not the cause” of the divisiveness.

“It did not start with Donald Trump. He is a symptom, not the cause,” Obama said. “He’s just capitalising on resentments that politicians have been fanning for years.”

Since Obama left the White House, he has avoided using Trump’s name in public statements and speeches, often employing the tactic of rebuking the president and his views without mentioning him. That changed Friday.

Obama also told the students the story of America has been a story of progress, but noted that it hasn’t always occurred in a straight line.

“There’s a reason why progress hasn’t been easy – every two steps forward seems to produce a step back. Every time we pull ourselves closer to our founding ideals – that all of us are created equal … somebody somewhere is pushed back. The status quo pushes back,” he said.

Obama emphasised to the students the “stakes really are higher” regarding this year’s midterms.

“You need to vote because our democracy depends on it. … This moment really is different,” the former president said. “The stakes really are higher. The consequences of any of us sitting on the sidelines are more dire.”

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