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Some Republican lawmakers are downplaying Donald Trump’s claim that Christians will never have to vote again if he is elected in November.
Trump made the remarks at the Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, Friday, at an event hosted by Turning Point Action, a conservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk.
There, Trump told the audience: “Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore...You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”
Now, some GOP lawmakers are looking to minimize the comments.
“I think he’s obviously making a joke about how bad things had been under Joe Biden, and how good they’ll be if we send President Trump back to the White House so we can turn the country around,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton told CNN on Sunday.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu called the remark a “classic Trump-ism.”
“I think he’s just trying to make the point that this stuff can be fixed,” the Republican governor told ABC News.
The Trump campaign also defended the former president’s comments.
“[Trump] was talking about uniting this country and bringing prosperity to every American, as opposed to the divisive political environment that has sowed so much division and even resulted in an assassination attempt,” campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Washington Post.
Trump’s speech prompted an immediate backlash as Democratic lawmakers condemned the comments.
California Representative Adam Schiff called on voters to reject “authoritarianism.”
“Here Trump helpfully reminds us that the alternative is never having the chance to vote again,” Schiff said about the comment.
Democratic likely-nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign warned about Project 2025, a 900-page document developed by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and several former Trump administration officials to serve as a blueprint for the next Trump presidency. The document includes plans to expand Trump’s executive authority, replace civil servants with loyalists, crush abortion rights, attack civil rights for LGBTQ+ people and impose an anti-immigrant agenda.
“After the last election Trump lost, he sent a mob to overturn the results. This campaign, he has promised violence if he loses, the end of our elections if he wins, and the termination of the Constitution to empower him to be a dictator to enact his dangerous Project 2025 agenda on America,” James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said.
Even some political leaders allied with Trump said the comments were unhelpful.
David Lane, founder of the American Renewal Project, a group dedicated to ensuring “every church in America” has a leader or congregant holding public office, told the Washington Post that Trump’s comments could discourage Christians from voting.
“[Trump] may have gotten a little over his skis,” Lane told the Post.
