Donald Trump, the former president who double downed on his ambitions of being a dictator, told a crowd gathered in West Palm Beach on Friday that if elected for a second term, they “won’t have to vote anymore.”
At the Florida summit, hosted by conservative group Turning Point Action, Trump promised that if he wins in November, he would “once again appoint rock-solid conservative judges who will protect religious liberty.”
After repeating his usual unfounded claims about mail-in voting, Trump launched into an appeal directed at Christian voters. “Christians, get out and vote!” yelled Trump. “Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It’ll be fixed! It’ll be fine! You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians!” He added, “You gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”
In December 2023, during a town hall in Davenport, Iowa, when asked by Fox News’ Sean Hannity if he would “abuse power as retribution against anybody,” Trump replied: “Except for 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 want to be a dictator for one 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 the termination of the Constitution in order to overturn the 2020 election results following his loss to President Joe Biden. In December 2022, during one of his rants on Truth Social, he incorrectly called himself the “rightful winner” and claimed that “Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Following Biden exiting the 2024 presidential race last weekend and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, Trump is now set to face the VP in the upcoming elections.
The convicted former president has been grasping at straws since then. Earlier this week, when baselessly accusing Harris of committing crimes, Trump referenced his own criminal record while bringing up the VP’s background as a courtroom prosecutor. Trump also backed out of his previous vow to debate “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE,” and demanded the showdown be hosted by Fox News, instead of ABC News. The former president’s communications director also said that Trump would not debate Harris “until Democrats formally decide on their nominee,” despite Trump previously debating Biden in June.