What Trump Meant by “You Won’t Have to Vote Anymore” Is Weirder Than You Think

Also, the case for Supreme Court term limits, how corporations are profiting off the poor, the case for the economy Kamala Harris can make, and more, all in the July 30, 2024 newsletter.

The post What Trump Meant by “You Won’t Have to Vote Anymore” Is Weirder Than You Think appeared first on Washington Monthly.

After all Donald Trump has said and done to erode democracy, he has forfeited any benefit of the doubt when it comes to interpreting his incendiary rhetoric.

But in the case of his Friday declaration that “you won’t have to vote anymore” if he wins this November, we need not jump to the conclusion he meant to say he is planning to end democratic elections.

Misinterpreting the comment misses one of the huge underreported stories of this election.

It’s a story that regular readers of the Washington Monthly and this newsletter already know: Trump is heavily relying on right-wing Turning Point network to handle his get-out-the-vote operation, even though Turning Point has no track record in getting out the vote.

I’ll explain how the comment and the GOTV gamble are linked, but first, here’s what’s leading the Washington Monthly website:

***

VIDEO: Anne Kim Discusses Poverty for Profit With Paul Glastris: The new book Poverty for Profit: How Corporations Get Rich Off America’s Poor pulls back the curtain on a vast, predatory corporate sector that few middle-class Americans know anything about. On July 15th, author Anne Kim discussed the book in depth with Washington Monthly Editor-in-Chief Paul Glastris. Click here to watch the video.

The Empirical Case for Supreme Court Term Limits: Professors Adam Chilton, Daniel Epps, Kyle Rozema, and Maya Sen argue that 18-year term limits would mitigate the problems of irregular appointments, strategic retirements, and contentious confirmations. Click here for the full story.

Data Don’t Lie: Harris Has the Facts to Refute Trump’s Lies About the Economy: Contributing Writer Robert J. Shapiro explains how the new Democratic presidential nominee can show how her administration beat the inflation that hit other countries harder. Click here for the full story.

The Perpetrator and the Prosecutor: James D. Zirin, former federal prosecutor, says a Kamala Harris victory could leave Trump vulnerable to imprisonment. Click here for the full story.

Venezuelan Elections Could Turn the Refugee Tide: Markos Kounalakis, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Leopoldo López, a Venezuelan opposition leader in exile, explains how Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has weaponized refugees to cling to power. Click here for the full story.

***

Last month I pieced together the bonkers story of how Trump ousted Ronna McDaniel as chair of the Republican National Committee at the urging of Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk, because she was resisting Kirk’s proposal to run point on GOTV.

Some Republicans suggested Turning Point’s plan to raise $108 million for his group to boost voter turnout in three states smelled like a “grift,” yet Trump gave it the green light.

Why? I surmised it’s because the Turning Point strategy is to eschew swing voters and pursue right-wingers who have not reliably voted in the past. Trump was likely attracted to a theory of the case which minimized the need for moderation of his rhetoric.

And where did Trump make his “you won’t have to vote anymore” comments? At the Turning Point “Believers Summit,” where conservative Christian attendees were urged to get politically active.

The Turning Point strategy is premised on the notion that many “low propensity” voters are disengaged Christians. On his podcast two months ago, Kirk shared the story of a “MAGA hat wearing” “Christian man” who often helps out his family. But when Kirk asked him if he was registered to vote, he said no. “It got me thinking,” Kirk said, “how many low propensity voters are out there that are not registered to vote, that believe what we believe.”

Trump echoed this belief in his remarks. Before he said “you won’t have to vote anymore,” he said, “Christians have to vote, you know. I don’t want to scold you. But do you know that Christians do not vote proportionately. They don’t vote like they should. They’re not big voters.”

This is not really true. Seventy percent of Americans identify as Christian (Protestant, Catholic, or otherwise), as did 68 percent of 2020 voters. Regarding the Christian voters Trump cares about the most, 14 percent of Americans identify as white evangelicals, but of 2020 voters, white evangelicals accounted for a disproportionately higher 28 percent share.

There was a time, before Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign and the subsequent rise of Jerry Falwell’s right-wing Moral Majority organization which buoyed Ronald Reagan, when many evangelicals saw politics as too impure to merit participation. But that time has long passed.

Nevertheless, Trump and Turning Point are based their voter turnout strategy on this belief that Christians are reluctant voters.

To be fair, some low-propensity voters are Republican-leaning. Three years ago I wrote about how low-propensity voters are evenly divided between Republican and Democratic leaners.

It’s not crazy to try to juice base turnout. But it is crazy to give that job to people with no track record of success.

And it’s really crazy to shiv your party chair—and install your inexperienced daughter-in-law in her stead—in order to give more responsibility to people with no track record of success.

Part of the plan cooked up by Turning Point was to have Trump speak at a conference for conservative Christians, lecture them about how they don’t like voting, and tell them even if they don’t like voting, just do it this one time.

That’s why his ending remarks were directed at Christians: “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 any more, my beautiful Christians.”

If the presidential race remains close, the ground game—and Trump’s embrace of Turning Point—may determine the outcome.Subscribe

SHARE THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Spread the word! Forward this email newsletter to your friends, or share the online version from Substack.

FIND THE MONTHLY ON SOCIAL

We’re on Twitter @monthly

We’re on Threads @WAMonthly

We’re on Instagram @WAMonthly

We’re on Facebook @WashingtonMonthly

Best,

Bill Scher, Washington Monthly politics editor

The post What Trump Meant by “You Won’t Have to Vote Anymore” Is Weirder Than You Think appeared first on Washington Monthly.