Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Salon
Salon
Politics
Marin Scotten

Trump defends "won't have to vote" claim

Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday gave Donald Trump multiple opportunities to clarify his claim that Christians won’t have to vote anymore if he wins in November but the former president repeatedly dodged the questions, instead criticizing the Biden administration’s treatment of both Christian and Jewish people.

“This was a crowd that liked me a lot, and they’re treated very badly by this administration, OK?” he told Ingraham.

He eventually responded to Ingraham, but simply reiterated what he told the crowd at the Turning Point Believers Summit in Florida on Sunday.

“Don’t worry about the future, you have to vote on November 5. After that you don’t have to worry about voting anymore, I don’t care. The country will be fixed and we won’t even need your vote anymore,” Trump said.

Trump added that he was speaking directly to groups like Christian voters and gun owners, both of whom he said rarely vote in federal elections. 

The former president’s comment on Sunday drew a wealth of criticism from Democrats, who said the comment comes off as an authoritarian threat to democracy.

“The only way ‘you won’t have to vote anymore’ is if Donald Trump becomes a dictator,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., wrote on X. 

Since President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was stepping down as the Democratic candidate and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump has repeatedly suggested he may dodge the next presidential debate, which is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Later in the interview, Ingraham asked Trump to clarify why he is reluctant to partake. 

“Why not debate her?” Ingraham asked the former president.

“Well wait, because they already know everything,” Trump responded, before criticizing Harris’ stance on criminal justice reform, policing and taxes.

“I’m leading in all of the polls, I’m leading big in all of the swing states,” he concluded.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.