The Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States, Mr Donald Trumptold members of a Christian organization on Friday that if they vote for him in November, “in four years you won’t have to vote again. We’ll have fixed it so well, you won’t have to vote again.”

It’s unclear what the former president meant by his comments in a campaign where his Democratic opponents accuse him of posing a threat to democracy and after he tried to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in 2020, which led to the bloody invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

His campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on his comments.

Trump made these statements during an event organized by the conservative organization Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“Christians, go vote, just this once. You’ll never have to again. Four more years, you know, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote again, my fine Christians,” Trump said. and added: “I love you Christians. I am a Christian too. I love you, go, you must go and vote. In four years you will not have to vote again, we will have made it so good that you will not have to vote again.”

In a December interview with Fox News, Trump said that if he wins the Nov. 5 election, he will act like a dictator, but only “in the beginning,” to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.

Democrats took advantage of that comment, and Trump has since said it was a joke.

If Trump wins a second term in the White House he may only have four more years in office. US presidents are only allowed to serve two terms–concurrent or not–under the US Constitution.

In May, speaking at a gathering of National Rifle Association (the most powerful gun rights lobby in the US) Trump had joked that he would serve more than two terms as president.

He was referring to the presidency of Democrat Franklin Roosevelt, the only president to serve more than two terms. The two-term limit was added to the US Constitution after the Roosevelt presidency.

“You know, FDR (Roosevelt), 16 years–almost 16 years–served four terms. I don’t know, do we count three terms or two terms?” he had asked the assembled crowd.

His comments yesterday underscore the need for both parties to mobilize their base as the battle for the presidency looks set to be a head-to-head battle. Trump had received strong support from evangelicals in the previous two elections.

The battle has suddenly become more difficult for him after Biden’s decision to withdraw from his campaign and support his vice president Kamala Harris, who will apparently also be Trump’s opponent.

Recent polls show that Trump’s large lead over Biden has narrowed significantly since the incumbent president announced his decision.