Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has told Christians that if they vote for him this November, "in four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote."
It was not clear what the former president meant by his remarks, in an election campaign where his Democratic opponents accuse him of being a threat to democracy, and after his attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joe Biden, an effort that led to the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for clarification of his comments.
Mr Trump was speaking at an event organised by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Mr Trump said: "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians."
He added: "I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta 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."
In an interview with Fox News in December, Mr Trump said that if he won the 5 November election he would be a dictator, but only on "day one", to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.
Democrats have seized on that comment. Mr Trump has since said the remarks were a joke.
If Mr Trump wins a second term in the White House, he can serve only four more years as president. US presidents are limited to two terms, consecutive or not, under the US Constitution.
In May, speaking at a National Rifle Association gathering, Mr Trump quipped about serving more than two terms as president.
He referred to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, the only president to serve more than two terms. The two-term limit was added after Roosevelt's presidency.
"You know, FDR, 16 years - almost 16 years - he was four terms. I don't know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?" Mr Trump asked the NRA crowd.
Trump to return for rally at site of assassination attempt
Earlier Mr Trump said he will return to the Pennsylvania town where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt.
"I will be going back to Butler, Pennsylvania, for a big and beautiful rally," former US president Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social site, without providing details on when or where the rally would take place.
Mr Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was grazed in the right ear and one spectator was killed in the gunfire in Butler on 13 July.
The gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, swiftly consolidated Democratic support after President Joe Biden tapped her to succeed him last Sunday.
A handful of public opinion polls this week have shown her beginning to narrow Mr Trump's lead.
A Wall Street Journal poll yesterday showed Mr Trump holding 49% support to Ms Harris's 47% support, with a margin of error of three percentage points.
A poll by the newspaper earlier this month had shown Mr Trump leading Biden 48% to 42%.
Former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle endorsed Harris yesterday, adding their names to a parade of prominent Democrats who coalesced behind Ms Harris' White House bid after Mr Biden, 81, ended his reelection campaign under pressure from the party.
"We called to say Michelle and I couldn't be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office," Mr Obama told Ms Harris in a phone call posted in an online video by the campaign.
Smiling as she spoke into a cellphone, Harris expressed her gratitude for the endorsement and their long friendship.
"Thank you both. It means so much. And we're gonna have some fun with this too," said Ms Harris, who would also be the nation's first female president if she prevails in the 5 November election.
Mr Obama, the first black US president, and Michelle remain among the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, almost eight years after he left office.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll early this month showed that 55% of Americans - and 94% of Democrats - viewed Ms Obama favourably, higher approval than Ms Harris' 37% nationally and 81% within the party.
The endorsement could help boost support and fundraising for Harris' campaign, and it signals Obama is likely to get on the campaign trail for Harris.
