Former President Donald Trump’s remarks at Turning Point Action’s Believers’ Summit on Friday in which he said “you won’t have to vote” in four years has sparked fear among some on social media.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, spoke in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday evening as he laid out his policy plans if reelected in November. The former president’s speech played into the conservative summit’s themes, which are tailored to “unite Christians across America,” per the event’s website.
During his speech, Trump said that Democrats have “only one reason” why they do not support legislation to enact voter registration reform: “Because they want to cheat.”
“Republicans must win,” he said Friday. “We have to win this election, [the] most important election ever. We want a landslide that’s too big to rig.”
Trump added: “Christians, get out and vote just this time. You won’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.”
Trump has continued to claim without evidence that 2020 presidential election was stolen from him by widespread voter fraud after losing to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Since Trump’s comments some have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to express their concerns over future elections with some warning against the former president.
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Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, wrote: “This. Is. Terrifying. We cannot let this be the case.”
Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Jaime Harrison pointed toward Trump’s past comments about being a dictator “on day one” if reelected to the White House.
“The crazed ramblings from the Dictator on Day 1… he’s fixing it so “you won’t have to vote again.” You like your freedom?! You sure as hell better be ready to protect it! Get Registered and Vote!,” Harrison wrote on X.
Trump made the controversial “dictator” comment while speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in December, telling the host that he won’t be a dictator in his second term “except on day one.”
He later repeated the statement during a keynote speech at the New York Young Republican Club’s annual gala that same and said, “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.”
Turmp’s drilling comment was a reference to his vow to expand oil drilling in the U.S. He later said that the comments were in a “joking manner.”
Meanwhile, Ron Filipkowski, an attorney and frequent critic of Trump, wrote on X, “Just remember, we told you who he was and what he intends to do. He tells you with his own words. Wake up, America. End this lunacy at the ballot box this November.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.
While it’s unclear what Trump plans to do if he wins in November, he said at the CNN presidential debate in Atlanta, “I said my retribution is going to be success. We’re going to make this country successful again, because right now it’s a failing nation.”
Democrats have repeatedly pointed to Trump’s statements as an example of him being a “threat” to American democracy. However, Trump’s supporters have suggested that such rhetoric contributed to the failed assassination attempt against the former president at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.