This is 'a test,' Obama says of the U.S. under Trump

Former President Obama, speaking on stand-up comedian Marc Maron's final podcast on Monday, said the Trump administration’s policies are a “test” of whether universities, businesses, law firms and voters — including Republicans — will take a stand for the nation’s founding principles and values.

- BY SEEMA MEHTA

FORMER President Obama, speaking on Marc Maron's podcast, touched on major issues facing Californians.

(ERIN HOOLEY Associated Press)

“If you decide not to vote, that’s a consequence. If you are a Hispanic man and you're frustrated about inflation, and so you decided, ah, you know what, all that rhetoric about [President] Trump doesn’t matter. ‘I’m just mad about inflation,’” Obama said. “And now your sons are being stopped in L.A. because they look Latino and maybe without the ability to call anybody, might just be locked up, well, that’s a test.”

In a more than hourlong discussion with Maron on the wildly popular “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast, the former Democratic president said current events could jolt Americans.

“It'd be great if we weren't tested this way, but you know what? We probably need to be shaken out of our complacency,” he said.