Tuesday during at the Global Food Innovation Summit in Milan, former President Barack Obama declared people get the politicians they “deserve” if they don’t vote during a question-and-answer session.

“People have a tendency to blame politicians when things don’t work,” Obama said. “But as I always tell people, you get the politicians you deserve. And if you don’t vote and if you don’t participate and if you don’t pay attention, then you’ll get policies that don’t reflect your interests.”

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