- Trump calls on Christians to go out and vote in November elections.
- He says, “We'll fix it so well that you won't have to vote.”
- Campaign spokesman says former president was talking about uniting the country.
WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump has said that if Christians vote for him, they will not need to cast their ballots after this year's presidential election to be held in November.
“I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you. Go out, you have to go out and vote. In four years you won't have to vote again. We'll have it so good that you won't have to vote,” Trump said during an event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday.
It is unclear what the former president meant by his comments, coming on the campaign trail in which his Democratic opponents accused him of being a threat to democracy, and after his attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden, an effort that led to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not directly address Trump's comments when asked for clarification.
Cheung said the former president “was talking about uniting this country” and blamed the “divisive political environment” for the attempted assassination of Trump two weeks ago.
Investigators have yet to provide a motive for why the 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump.
In an interview with Fox News In December, Trump said that if he won the Nov. 5 election he would be a dictator, but only on “day one,” closing the southern border with Mexico and expanding oil drilling.
Democrats seized on the comment, with Trump later saying the remarks were a joke.
If Trump wins a second term in the White House, he will only be able to remain president for four more years. It should be noted that the US Constitution limits presidents to two terms, consecutive or not.
In May, speaking at a meeting of the National Rifle Association, Trump joked about serving more than two terms as president.
He was referring 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, four terms. I don't know, are we going to be considered three terms? Or two terms?” Trump asked the NRA crowd.
Trump's comments on Friday pointed to the need for both parties to energize their base voters ahead of what is likely to be a closely contested election. Trump has enjoyed loyal support from evangelicals in the past two elections.
The race has become abruptly tighter following Biden's decision to end his re-election bid and with his vice president, Kamala Harris, becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Recent opinion polls show that Trump's significant lead over Biden has largely been erased since the torch was passed to Harris.
Harris campaign spokesman Jason Singer did not directly address Trump's comments about Christians not having to vote again in a statement.
Singer called Trump's overall speech “bizarre” and “retrograde.”
