Obama criticizes Trump's policies

Former U.S. President Barack Obama slammed his successor President Trump during a speech at the University of Illinois on Friday.

“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 and anger that's rooted in our past, but it's also born out of the enormous upheavals that have taken place in your brief lifetimes,” Obama said last week.

Obama’s remarks were the first time he directly took aim at Trump since leaving office.

“The politics of division and resentment and paranoia has unfortunately found a home in the Republican Party,” Obama, a Democrat, said.

“Just a glance at recent headlines should tell you this moment really is different. The stakes really are higher. The consequences of any of us sitting on the sidelines are more dire,” he added, calling for voters to vote in the November midterm elections.

“This is not normal. It's radical. It's a vision that says the protection of our power and those who back us is all that matters, even when it hurts the country. It's a vision that says the few who can afford a high-priced lobbyist and unlimited campaign contributions set the agenda. And over the past two years, this vision is now nearing its logical conclusion.”

Referring to an anonymous column in the New York Times detailing resistance within the Trump administration, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said Trump is facing a “coup.”

“This is a direct attack on the institutions. This is a coup,” said Bannon.

The column was published on Wednesday and was written by an unnamed senior administration official, the New York Times said.

The writer slammed Trump’s “amorality” and said: “Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”