Obama says it will be a 'personal insult' if blacks don't vote

President Barack Obama said if black voters fail to vote in sufficient numbers and Donald Trump wins the presidency, he will consider it a "personal insult."

"I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard," Obama said on Saturday at an awards dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington.

"You want to give me a good send off? Go vote!"
At times raising his voice during an impassioned 25-minute speech, Obama sought to rally his most loyal supporters to elect Hillary Clinton as his successor.

Obama's remarks came a day after Trump acknowledged that the president was born in the US. Without apologizing, the Republican presidential nominee reversed himself after years of promoting a conspiracy theory that Obama was born in Kenya.

Obama took the opportunity to mock Trump during the speech to the mostly black audience.
"I don't know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole birther things is over," the president said, smiling. "In other breaking news, the world is round, not flat."

Obama also took aim at Trump's outreach to black voters. Trump has spent much of the past month making overt attempts to reach out to black voters, often describing their lives in apocalyptic terms. He has said Democrats are responsible for the challenges in the urban communities. In several rallies in recent months, Trump has said blacks live in crime-ridden communities and can't walk down the street without getting shot.

"You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good," Trump said at a Michigan rally last month. "You have no jobs. Fifty-eight per cent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?" 

Obama's remarks followed a speech by Clinton, who... read full story