Trump makes crowd pledge to vote Republican, calls himself ‘greatest president in US history’

DALLAS, TEXAS: President Donald Trump led the audience through a mock "pledge" during his appearance on the second and final day of the Republicans’ convention, asking them to raise their right hands and promise to vote in the next election alongside their family and friends.

"Please raise your right hand," Trump said to the crowd as he began his bit.

Trump’s ‘cheat like hell’ pledge draws attention

"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 and my friends," Trump said, prompting the crowd to repeat after him.

He then added a joking aside about election integrity, saying, "I'll do it any way. I don't care if I'm registered or not. I'm going to try and cheat like hell like they do."

Trump continued the bit, saying, "They'd never, there's never been bigger cheaters, that I don't care."

He then returned to the core pledge, telling the crowd, "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."

Trump paused for effect midway through the bit, noting how much he appreciated the opportunity to hold so many rallies. "This about number 300 rally. I don't know how the hell they do it. They are beautiful," before resuming and finishing the pledge with the audience.

Trump urges voters to back Republicans

After the pledge, Trump said that while they were all welcome to vote for a Democrat if they wanted, he was not so sure that that’s going to happen.

"If you want, you can vote Democrat, but I don't think there's one person in this room that's going to vote" that way, Trump said, before telling the crowd directly, "Vote Republican. Just go out. If you vote, you're voting Republican."

Trump then turned to his audience with a more serious message about the importance of voting.

"You know what happens if you don't vote? You go to hell. You know that. You go to hell. And I don't want that to happen to you, so please go and vote."

He closed the segment by framing the upcoming election in broader terms, telling supporters, "together we will defeat the communists."

Trump rallies GOP voters on convention’s final day

The “pledge” comes on the second and final day of the GOP’s midterm convention, where Trump has engaged in a mix of campaign-style messaging and lighthearted banter with his audience during his address.

The pledge bit was one of several rally staples that Trump deployed with enthusiasm as he sought to motivate his supporters ahead of the November election.

It was also the latest in a series of such pledges used in recent years to help drive voter turnout in tightly contested elections.