FLASH
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US presidential candidate Donald Trump has sparked alarm among his critics after telling a crowd of supporters they won't "have to vote again" if they return him to the presidency in November's election.
"Christians, go out and vote! Just this once — you won't have to do it again,” the former Republican president said Friday night at a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, organized by the far-right Christian advocacy group Turning Point Action.
“You know what? It will be fixed! It will be fine. You won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians," he said with a slight nod and his right hand pressed to the left side of his chest.
He added: “I love you. Get out - you need to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll fix it so well, you won't have to vote."
Trump's remarks — delivered not far from his Mar-a-Lago resort and home — were immediately met with concern in some political circles. Constitutional and civil rights attorney Andrew Seidel, for example, responded to the video of Trump's comments circulating on X by writing, "This is not subtle Christian nationalism. He is talking about ending our democracy and installing a nation Christians."
Trump: You have to get out and vote. You won't have to do it anymore. Four years, it will be fixed, it will be fine. You won't have to vote anymore.. In four years, you won't have to vote again. pic.twitter.com/DBGcBr3Wht
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 27, 2024
Authoritarianism experts warn the public to take Trump seriously when he talks that way. And before Joe Biden suspended his re-election campaign on July 21 and endorsed Kamala Harris to succeed him in the Oval Office, the Democratic president repeatedly sought to portray Trump as an existential threat to American democracy.
Trump supporters have tried to blame that rhetoric for the failed July 13 assassination attempt on the former president at a political rally in Pennsylvania. The FBI said Friday that a bullet — either whole or fragmented — struck Trump in one of his ears during the day's shooting, which also killed a rally attendee and wounded two other spectators before a Service sniper Secret to shoot the gunman dead.
However, many noted how Trump's comments on Friday appeared to be an indication that the Republican presidential nominee had no plans to stop clear threats against democratic norms, including the election itself.
“Oh. Trump just canceled the 2028 election,” liberal political commentator Keith Olbermann wrote on X in a post featuring a video clip of the former president's remarks on Friday.
Caty Payette, communications director for Democratic US Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, added in a separate X post: "When we say Trump is a threat to democracy, that's exactly what we're talking about."
However, not everyone is disappointed by the rhetoric Trump turned to on Friday. An Ipsos poll published in June and commissioned by the nonprofit Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance found that 41% of Americans believe that "having a strong leader who doesn't have to worry about parliament and elections" is a very good way or good enough to govern.
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