US President Donald Trump has urged his supporters to turn out for the November 3 election, telling them he did not care whether they were registered to vote and jokingly encouraging 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 Reuters.
During the event, Trump asked attendees to raise their right hands and repeat after him as he pledged support for what he described as “the greatest president in the history of the United States”.
He then urged the crowd to encourage their family members and friends to vote in the election.
“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,” Trump said.
“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 added.
The crowd repeated the final phrase of the pledge before Trump joked 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?” he said.
Trump’s comments came as he sought to energise Republican supporters ahead of the November election, with control of Congress at stake.
