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He also didn't spare some protesters from criticism, appearing to allude to the canceled Trump rally in his hometown of Chicago over the weekend.

“We’ve seen misguided attempts to shut down that speech. However offensive it may be, we live in a country where free speech is one of the most important rights we hold,\" the president said. \"In response to those attempts we’ve seen actual violence. And we’ve heard silence from too many of our leaders.”

“We can treat one another as patriots, even if we disagree,” Obama said. \"We can condemn this race to the bottom or accept it as the way things are, and sink further.\"

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