Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Christians on Friday that if they vote for him in November, “in four years, you won’t have to vote again. We’re going to fix everything so well you won’t have to vote.”
It was unclear what the former president meant by these remarks, in an election campaign in which his Democratic opponents accuse him of being a threat to democracy, and after his attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joe Biden. , an effort that led to the deadly attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for clarification about the comments.
Trump was at an event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida. He said, “Christians, go out and vote, just this once. You won’t have to do that anymore. Four more years, you know what, everything will be resolved, everything will be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.” And he added: “I love you Christians. I am a Christian. I love you guys, come out, you need to get out and vote. You won’t have to vote anymore. In four years, you won’t have to vote again, we’ll fix everything so well that you won’t have to vote,” Trump said.
In an interview with Fox News in December, Trump said that if he won the November 5 election he would be a dictator, but only on “day one” to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.
Democrats seized on that comment. Trump has since said the comments were a joke.
If Trump wins a second term in the White House, he could only serve four more years as president. Presidents of the United States are limited to two terms, whether consecutive or not, according to the country’s Constitution.
In May, at a meeting of the National Rifle Association, Trump joked about serving more than two terms as president. He referred to the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, the only president to serve more than two terms. The two-term limit was added after Roosevelt’s presidency.
“You know, FDR, 16 years – almost 16 years – he had four terms. I don’t know, will we be considered three terms? Or two?” Trump asked the crowd at the time.
Trump’s comments on Friday pointed to the need for both parties to galvanize their voter bases ahead of what will likely be a closely contested election. Trump had the support of evangelicals in the last two elections.
The race abruptly intensified after Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and with his vice president, Kamala Harris, becoming the Democratic nominee.
Recent opinion polls show that Trump’s significant lead over Biden has narrowed since Kamala Harris took office.
In a statement, Jason Singer, a spokesman for Kamala Harris’ campaign, did not comment on Trump’s remarks about Christians not having to vote again. Singer described Trump’s overall speech as “bizarre” and “retrograde.”
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