Trump leads convention in pledge: ‘You go to h—’ if you don’t vote

President Trump closed out the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Thursday by urging attendees to pledge to go out and vote in November’s midterm elections.

“Please raise your right hand,” Trump told a stadium packed with his supporters as he was met with some laughter.

“I pledge to the greatest president in the history of the United States that loves us so much he can’t even breathe, that I will go out with my family, my friends,” he continued.

“I don’t care if I’m registered or not. I’m going to try and cheat like hell like they do. There’s never been bigger cheaters. I don’t care,” he said. “I am going to go out and I am going to get my friends, my family, and we are going to vote on Nov. 3rd or we are going to vote before that.”

Trump said it went without saying that people would vote Republican.

“Okay. So help me God,” he concluded the pledge.

“You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell,” he added. “You know that, okay? You go to hell, and I don’t want that to happen to you. So please go and vote, because together we will defeat the communists.”

The pledge, which some in the crowd tried to repeat, came at the end of a notably succinct speech compared to his remarks Wednesday night, as he seeks to gin up enthusiasm among his conservative base ahead of the midterms.

Republicans are facing historical headwinds in their battle to maintain their majorities in the House and the Senate, given that the president’s party normally loses seats in their first midterm election.

Additionally, Trump is facing declining approval ratings and a growing frustration with the economy, which appears to have impacted Republican candidates on the generic ballot.

Trump and his Republican allies are leaning into a strategy of turning out as much of his base as possible in a bid to defy historical trends and a poor national environment.

On Thursday, Trump reiterated his proposal to give $5,000 to every U.S. adult if Republicans retain their majorities on Capitol Hill — an idea he pitched Wednesday night that met pushback from both sides of the aisle on Thursday.

“If we win the midterms, we will on the other hand, we will provide a, let’s call it a Trump dividend, $5,000 for every adult citizen in our country,” he said. “And we can do that because our country has never done better. We’re taking in trillions, trillions of dollars. There’s never been any country, not even close, that’s come anywhere near.”

“We win $5,000 for every adult. We love our adults,” he added.