Trump tells Christians they don’t have to vote after this election

WASHINGTON>> Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Christians Friday that if they vote for him in November, “in four years, you won’t have to vote anymore. We’ll make it so good that you won’t have to vote anymore.”

It is unclear what the former president meant by his comments, coming as he is campaigning for an election in which his Democratic opponents have accused him of being a threat to democracy and following his attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joe Biden, an effort that led to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump spoke at an event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump said, “Christians, go vote, just this once.” “You don’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you don’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”

He added: “I love you Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, go out, you gotta vote. In four years, you won’t have to vote anymore, we’ll make it so good that you won’t have to vote anymore,” Trump said.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not directly address Trump’s comments when asked for clarification.

Cheung said Trump “talked about uniting this country” and blamed “the divided 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 a December interview with Fox News, 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 extraction.

Democrats picked up on that comment. Trump has since said the remarks were a joke.

If Trump wins a second term in the White House, he will only be able to serve four more years as president. American presidents are limited to two terms under the U.S. Constitution, whether consecutive or not.

In May, Trump spoke at a National Rifle Association meeting and joked about having served 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 — he was four terms. I don’t know, are we considered three terms? Or two terms?” Trump asked the NRA crowd.

Trump’s comments on Friday underscored the need for both parties to mobilize their base voters for what is likely to be a close election. Trump has enjoyed loyal support from evangelicals in the past two elections.

The race suddenly became more exciting after Biden decided to end his re-election campaign and his Vice President, Kamala Harris, became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Recent polls show that Trump’s significant lead over Biden has largely disappeared since Harris passed the torch.

Jason Singer, a spokesman for Harris’ campaign, in a statement did not directly address Trump’s comments about Christians no longer having to vote.

Singer described Trump’s speech as “bizarre” and “hindsight-inspiring.”