Obama: Democracy at stake in November elections


              In this April 5, 2016, photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. He won’t be on November’s ballot, but Obama is slowly embracing his role as the anti-Donald Trump, taking on the Republican front-runner in ways that no other Democrat can. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In this April 5, 2016, photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. He won’t be on November’s ballot, but Obama is slowly embracing his role as the anti-Donald Trump, taking on the Republican front-runner in ways that no other Democrat can. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - President Barack Obama says a functioning American democracy is what's at stake in November's elections.

He says it's important to elect leaders who believe compromise isn't a dirty word, who listen to those who disagree with them and respect those who are unlike them.

Obama mentioned Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz several times in remarks at a House Democratic fundraiser late Friday at the Los Angeles home of Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and his wife, Cindy, an environmental advocate.

Actors Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow were among the approximately 100 people who attended, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and other members of Congress. Tickets cost $33,400 per couple.

Obama was attending three fundraisers in California on Friday.

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