On Friday, Trump spoke to a Turning Point USA Faith Believers Summit (i.e., an Evangelical Christian group). In the last minutes of his speech, according to Democrats, he announced that, if elected, he’ll end all elections, becoming a dictator for life. Of course, if you listen to Trump, he said something quite different: He will work to end election fraud so that, going forward, all true votes in America will be counted and Republicans can win, even if, as is usually he case, 40% of potential Evangelical voters stay home.

The WaPo sums up the hysteria:

Democratic lawmakers and Vice President Harris’s campaign joined a chorus of online critics in calling out remarks Donald Trump aimed at a Christian audience on Friday, arguing that the former president and current Republican presidential nominee had implied he would end elections in the United States if he won a second term.

At the conclusion of his speech at the Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., Trump said, “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.”

[snip]

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who is running for Senate, shared the clip of Trump’s speech on X, writing, “This year democracy is on the ballot, and if we are to save it, we must vote against authoritarianism. Here Trump helpfully reminds us that the alternative is never having the chance to vote again.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called Trump’s comments “terrifying.” And Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said, “The only way ‘you won’t have to vote anymore’ is if Donald Trump becomes a dictator.”

Although the WaPo quotes Trump accurately, it does so using deception through omission. I went to the full speech to see what Trump had said in context.

What Trump said is that cheating is rampant in American elections. His goal, if elected, is to return to paper ballots and demand voter ID, all to ensure that real people, who are citizens, vote and that their votes are honestly counted. That’s not about ending elections and creating a dictatorship; that’s about ensuring honest elections, and not Kabuki theater with a pre-determined outcome that invariably favors Democrats. (So, you can see, of course, why Democrats are panicking.)

Image: YouTube screen grab (cropped).

Thus, Trump said, “I will secure our elections. Our goal will be, as I said, one-day voting with paper ballots, proof of citizenship, and a thing called voter ID.” From there, he went on a Trumpian riff about the Democrats’ resistance to voter ID, even though, at their own conventions, they mandate huge, comprehensive ID tags for every attendee. Following that riff, Trump continued, “They don't want to approve voter ID. That’s because they want to cheat.”

It was in this context that Trump then said that Republicans must get out and vote in overwhelming numbers, with the unspoken subtext being that this is the only way to exceed the margin of error that allows cheating:

Until then [that is, until Trump can clean up election fraud], Republicans must win. We have to win this election—most important election ever. We want a landslide that’s too big to rig.

If you want to save America, get your friends, get your family, get everyone you know, and vote. Vote early, vote absentee, vote on Election Day. I don’t care how, but you have to get out and vote.

And what about that point about Christians never needing to vote again? Well, yes, he seemingly said it:

And again, Christians get out and vote, 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.

[snip]

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.

It’s obvious that what Trump was speaking about when he said, “Christians get out and vote, just this time,” was the Evangelical Christians’ historical reluctance to vote. That changed, of course, with Ralph Reeds’ Christian Coalition, which galvanized Christian voters in Reagans’ favor.

Since then, however, while Evangelical Christians have supported the Republican agenda, even at the best of times, only about 60% of them are voting. As an article in Roll Call noted last year, depending on polls, Evangelical Christians are only 20-24% of the electorate, compared to the combined heft of black, Hispanic, and union voters (38-40% of the electorate). Moreover, “the white evangelical vote has been stunningly static in its share of the electorate.”

What this boils down to is Trump’s recognition that, even at the best of times, roughly 40% of Evangelical voters, who are at most 24% of the electorate, will sit out the election. What he told them on Friday is that the missing 40% must show up in November 2024.

After that, once Trump has returned honest voting (citizens only, voter ID, paper ballots), which will substantially diminish cheating, that same 40% can again lapse into passivity. But for now, every Evangelical vote matters. No one can stay home.

Bottom line: Trump is not promising to end elections forever. He’s promising to clean up elections, which should ensure future Republican victories with or without those 40% of stay-at-home Evangelical Christians.