Former President Obama was at the University of Illinois Friday to receive the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government, an honor also bestowed upon civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the late Sen. John McCain.
In his acceptance speech, Obama claimed certain “powerful and privileged” people want to “keep us angry because it helps them keep their power and their privilege.”
“It did not start with Donald Trump,” Obama said. “He is a symptom, not the cause. He’s just capitalizing on resentments that politicians have been fanning for years.”
“I’m here to deliver a simple message, and that is: you need to vote because our democracy depends on it,” Obama said.