Obama blasts Trump and Republicans, urges Democrats to vote

REUTERS - Former U.S. President Barack Obama waded into the political fray on Friday (September 7), launching a blistering critique of President Donald Trump and Republicans and urging Democrats to vote in November's elections. In a speech at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Obama said Americans were living in "dangerous times" and accused Republicans of undermining global alliances, cozying up to Russia and exploding the federal deficit. Both parties have encouraged their core supporters to get to the polls on Nov. 6, when Democrats need to pick up 23 seats in the House of Representatives and two seats in the Senate to gain majorities in Congress and slam the brakes on Trump's agenda. Obama, who has frustrated some Democrats by keeping a relatively low profile since leaving office in January 2017, said Republicans seemed unwilling to safeguard democracy or offer a check on Trump's policies or worst instincts. The November elections have been seen as a referendum on Trump, who has fulfilled campaign promises to cut taxes and regulations but who faces a widening special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and growing questions about his fitness for office, even by some within his administration.