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Nov. 20, 2018 / 4:18 PM GMT

By Allan Smith

Former President Barack Obama said "racism" and "mommy issues," among other contributors, were limiting the country's ability to make progress on everything from education to climate change.

Obama, speaking at the Obama Foundation Summit on Monday night, said the answers already exist to solve many of the problems facing both the U.S. and the world, but that the nation was not making progress "because we are still confused, blind, shrouded with hate, anger, racism, mommy issues."

The crowd laughed following Obama's remark, which came as he was explaining why he thought less was being done to combat climate change.

We are fraught with stuff, and so if that is the case, then the single most important thing we have to invest in is ... people, Obama continued. We have got to get people to figure out how they work together in a cooperative, thoughtful, constructive way.

The former president said people "literally can remake the world right now," which "badly needs remaking."

Obama did not reference President Donald Trump by name in his remarks. In the lead-up to the midterm elections, Obama in a rare move from a former president campaigned forcefully against Trump and the Republican Party, though he has mostly refrained from mentioning Trump's name.

Trump, who led the birther conspiracy crusade against Obama when he was in office, has continued to use Obama as a foil while occupying the Oval Office.

Allan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.

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