Trump: "President for life . . . I think it's great"
Trump told a gathering in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 26, 2024, that if they voted for him in November, then
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.1
Three days later on Fox News, he repeated this statement almost verbatim and in several follow-up questions, refused to clarify whether this meant he would abolish future elections if he won.2 And on August 17 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Trump said he "was like 93% in the polls" (he was actually at 43.7% that day, 2.5 points behind Harris3), and added, "why are we having an election?" He repeated, "why are we having an election" (see video).4
Trump had made it clear in several past statements that he preferred the leadership role of "President for Life." On March 3, 2018, at a Republican fundraiser in Florida, Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for ditching term limits, and quipped that Xi "is now president for life . . . . I think that's great." Trump added, "Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday."5
Trump has made several specific statements about staying on as president past a second term, in violation of the Constitution, if he were to win in 2020. On May 5, 2019, he retweeted a post by Jerry Falwell saying, "Trump should have 2 yrs added to his 1st term as pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup."6 On June 16, 2019, he tweeted "do you think the people would demand that I stay longer?"7
At a campaign rally on September 12, 2020, in Nevada, Trump said that if he as elected for a second term, he would be "entitled to another four years"—a third term. If he won the election, Trump added, "we'll negotiate" about his desired third term.8 These comments echo those he made a month earlier in Wisconsin, in which he said he would win a second term and then "go for another four years," a third term, "because they spied on my campaign."9
On December 3, 2022, Trump advocated terminating the Constitution to overturn the results of the 2020 election while pushing the "fraud at polls" fabrication that he cribbed verbatim from his #1 favorite movie, Citizen Kane. Trump posted on Truth Social: "A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution."10
When Trump told supporters on July 26, 2024, that if he wins, they won't have to vote again, this was a clear reiteration of dictatorial plans he had laid out many times previously. It was also a clarion call to Americans who wish to preserve our democracy to be sure to vote so that Trump won't get anywhere near the Oval Office ever again.
- The New York Times, "Trump Declines to Back Away From 'You Don't Have to Vote Again' Line," July 30, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/trump-christians-vote-ingraham.html; Reuters, "Trump tells Christians they won't have to vote after this election," July 28, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-christians-they-wont-have-vote-after-this-election-2024-07-27/.
- The New York Times, July 30, 2024, op cit.
- FiveThirtyEight, "National, President, general election, 2024 Polls," June 28, 2018, https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/, accessed August 18, 2024.
- Mediaite, "Trump Says 'Why Are We Having An Election?' After Harris Got Nomination Without Primary Votes: 'They Didn't Have An Election!,'" August 17, 2024, https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-says-why-are-we-having-an-election-after-harris-got-nomination-without-primary-votes-they-didnt-have-an-election/.
- The Washington Post, "In a jokey speech, Trump praised China's Xi for moving to end term limits, saying, 'Maybe we'll give that a shot someday,'" March 4, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/03/04/in-a-jokey-speech-trump-praised-chinas-xi-for-ditching-term-limits-saying-maybe-well-give-that-a-shot-some-day/; The Washington Post, "Trump again jokes about staying on as president for more than two terms," April 18, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-again-jokes-about-staying-on-as-president-for-more-than-two-terms/2019/04/18/05a5afce-6207-11e9-9ff2-abc984dc9eec_story.html.
- Politico, "Trump: 2 years of my term were 'stollen,'" May 5, 2019, https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/05/trump-term-mueller-1302643; The Washington Post, "Trump says supporters might 'demand' that he serve more than two terms as president," June 16, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-supporters-might-demand-that-he-serve-more-than-two-terms-as-president/2019/06/16/4b6b9ae2-9041-11e9-b570-6416efdc0803_story.html; The Washington Post, "Two more years? Trump's retweet sets off a furor over the idea of bonus time," May 6, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-more-years-trumps-retweet-sets-off-a-furor-over-the-idea-of-bonus-time/2019/05/06/4bf102c0-7018-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html.
- The Washington Post, June 16, 2019, op. cit.
- Forbes, "Trump Says He Will 'Negotiate' Third Term Because He's 'Entitled' To It," September 13, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/09/13/trump-says-he-will-negotiate-third-term-because-hes-entitled-to-it/; The Washington Post, "Trump says he'll 'negotiate' for a third term in office," September 13, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/09/13/trump-biden-live-updates/.
- Forbes, September 13, 2020, op. cit.
- CNN "Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post," December 3, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social/index.html.
