Donald Trumpthe The former president who doubled down on his ambitions to become a dictator told a crowd gathered in West Palm Beach on Friday that if they were elected to a second term, they “don't have to vote anymore.”
At the summit in Florida, hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action, Trump promised that if he wins in November, he will “again appoint ironclad conservative judges who will protect religious freedom.”
After repeating his usual unsubstantiated claims about mail-in voting, Trump began an appeal to Christian voters. “Christians, go vote!” Trump shouted. “Just this once. You don't have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It's going to be fixed! It's going to be okay! You don't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians!” He added, “You need to go vote. In four years, you won't have to vote anymore. We're going to fix this so well that you won't have to vote anymore.”
Trump: You have to go vote. You don't have to do it anymore. In four years it will be solved, then it will be fine. You don't have to vote anymore. In four years you don't have to vote anymore. photo.twitter.com/DBGcBr3Wht
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 27, 2024
In December 2023, during a town hall in Davenport, Iowa, when asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he would “abuse power in retaliation against anybody,” Trump replied: “Except on day one. I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
The former president later defended his comments, and at the New York Young Republican Club's 111th annual gala less than a week later, Trump said, “I didn't say that. I said I wanted to be a dictator for a day. You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Trump has also called for ending the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election results after his loss to President Joe Biden. In December 2022, during one of his rants on Truth Social, he falsely called himself the “rightful winner” and claimed that “massive fraud of this type and magnitude makes possible the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those in the Constitution.”
After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race last weekend and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, Trump will now face off against the vice president in the upcoming election.
The convicted former president has been grasping at straws ever since. Earlier this week, when baselessly accusing Harris of committing crimes, Trump cited his own criminal record while bringing up the VP's background as a prosecutor. Trump also backtracked on his previous promise to debate “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE” and demanded that the showdown be hosted by Fox News, rather than ABC News. The former president's communications director also said that Trump would not debate Harris “until the Democrats formally decide on their nomination,” despite Trump having previously debated Biden in June.
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