GOP nominee Donald Trump made some odd comments late last week, telling Christians that if they vote for him in this November’s presidential election, they’ll never have to vote again.
Trump was speaking at an event in West Palm Beach, Florida, that was hosted by Turning Point Action, which is a conservative group. During his speech, Trump said said that if attendees supported him in November:
“In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not going to have to vote.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what Trump was referring to when he made those comments, but it’s certainly something that his opponents have jumped on. Many leftists are painting Trump as a threat to democracy, and point to comments like this, which they say suggest Trump would try to rig electoral politics in the future.
They also make references Trump has made in the past to trying to stay in the White House for more than one more term if he’s elected.
The Constitution limits presidents to serving only two terms in office, whether that’s consecutive or not. That means that Trump can only serve four more years in the White House if he wins come November.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign jumped on Trump’s comments from the weekend, characterizing them as a “vow to end democracy.” As James Singer, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, said:
“When Vice President Harris says this election is about freedom, she means it. Our democracy is under assault by criminal Donald Trump. Donald Trump wants to take America backward, to a politics of hate, chaos and fear. This November, America will unite around Vice President Kamala Harris to stop him.”
Trump told the people in attendance at the event:
“Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You don’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.
“I love you Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, get out, you got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”
It’s very possible that what Trump was referring to was the basic lines that he’s said all throughout the campaign — that if he wins the White House again, he’s going to fix all the wrongs in the country. And that if he’s successful in doing so, there won’t be so contested of an election where GOP candidates are at threat of not winning in the future.
After the event, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, didn’t directly address the remarks Trump made.
What he did say was that the former president “was talking about uniting this country.” He further blamed “the divisive political environment” for the attempted assassination that happened two weeks ago.