US President Donald Trump has urged his supporters to turn out in large numbers for the November 3 election, making an unprecedented appeal in which he said he did not care whether they were registered to vote and encouraged them to “cheat like hell.”
Trump made the remarks while leading supporters in a mock pledge at a Republican gathering in Dallas, Texas, according to a Reuters report on Friday.
As part of the pledge, Trump asked attendees to raise their right hands and repeat after him as he called on them to support his presidency and mobilise their families and friends to vote.
Trump then made the controversial appeal, saying: “I don’t care if I’m registered or not. I’m going to try and cheat like hell like they do. They’ve never—there’s never been bigger cheaters. I don’t care.”
He subsequently urged his supporters to ensure that their friends and family members participated in the election.
“I am going to go out, and I’m going to get my friends, my family, and we are going to vote on November 3rd, or we are going to vote before that. So help me God,” he said.
The crowd repeated the final phrase of the pledge before Trump turned the moment into a joke, warning supporters about the consequences of failing to vote.
“Now I know. Now, I’d say just about everybody who…you know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell, you know that. Okay?” Trump said.
The remarks came as Trump sought to energise Republican supporters ahead of the November election, with control of Congress at stake.
His call to supporters to “cheat like hell” stood out from the wider mobilisation effort, adding an extraordinary and controversial dimension to his appeal for Republicans to vote.