Barack Obama was called out by a heckler while making a speech in which he warned that "democracy as we know it may not survive" in Arizona.

The former US president was speaking to a crowd of around 1,000 in Phoenix as part of his campaigning for the Democratic Party when the young man interrupted him.

He said that Republicans want "an economy that’s very good for folks at the very top, but not always so good for ordinary people," before the heckler interrupted: "Like you, Obama!"

The young man continued to shout that Katie Hobbs - who is running for Arizona Governor - "discriminates against black people", while he was physically removed from the high school gymnasium.

Obama then proceeded to warn the audience about toxic political rhetoric, saying: "This is part of what happens in our politics these days, we get distracted.

"You got one person yelling and suddenly everybody’s yelling. You get one tweet that’s stupid and suddenly everybody’s obsessed with the tweet. We can’t fall for that. We have to stay focused."

He added that if the Republican candidates are successful in the crucial swing state in next week's midterm elections, that "democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona."


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