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Obama opens up about role of race in his 2008 election win

President Barack Obama believes some Americans voted against him because of his race. But he also thinks a number of people backed him in 2008 because his would be a historic presidency.

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“I have no doubt there are people who voted against me because of race … or didn’t approve of my agenda because of race,” Obama said in an interview published Thursday by the Chicago Tribune. “I also suspect there are a bunch of people who are excited or voted for me because of the notion of the first African-American president … Those things cut both ways.”
Obama, facing his final year in the White House, hopes to have set “a tone for the next president” that’s not as harsh as the rhetoric heard on the campaign trail. Donald Trump, for example, has called for a temporary ban on Muslims traveling to the U.S. and a wall on the southern border to keep out Mexican immigrants. The president has alluded to the billionaire businessman’s controversial proposals in a number of speeches, urging Americans not to play into those fears.

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