WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Christians on Friday that if they vote for him this November, “in four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”

It was not clear what the former president meant by his remarks, in an election campaign where his Democratic opponents accuse him of being a threat to democracy, and after his attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joseph R. Biden, an effort that led to the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mr. Trump was speaking at an event organized by the conservative group Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Mr. Trump said: “Christians, get out and vote, just this time. “You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”

He added: “I love you Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung did not directly address Mr. Trump’s remarks when asked to clarify them.

Mr. Cheung said Mr. Trump “was talking about uniting this country,” and blamed “the divisive political environment” on the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump two weeks ago. Investigators have yet to give a motive for why the 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Mr. Trump.

In an interview with Fox News in December, Mr. Trump said that if he won the Nov. 5 election he would be a dictator, but only on “day one,” to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.

Democrats have seized on that comment. Mr. Trump has since said the remarks were a joke.

If Mr. Trump wins a second term in the White House, he can serve only four more years as president. US presidents are limited to two terms, consecutive or not, under the U.S. Constitution.

In May, speaking at a National Rifle Association gathering, Mr. Trump quipped about serving more than two terms as president.

He referred to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), a Democrat, the only president to serve more than two terms. The two-term limit was added after Roosevelt’s presidency.

“You know, FDR, 16 years — almost 16 years — he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?” Mr. Trump asked the NRA crowd.

Mr. Trump’s remarks on Friday pointed to the need for both parties to energize their base voters ahead of what will likely be a closely fought election. Mr. Trump has enjoyed loyal support from evangelicals in the past two elections.

The race has abruptly tightened after the decision by Mr. Biden to end his reelection bid and with his vice president, Kamala Harris, becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Recent opinion polls show Mr. Trump’s significant lead over Mr. Biden has been largely erased since the torch was passed to Harris.

Jason Singer, a Harris campaign spokesperson, in a statement did not directly address Mr. Trump’s remarks about Christians not having to vote again.

Mr. Singer described Mr. Trump’s overall speech as “bizarre” and “backward looking.” — Reuters

SINGAPORE — Malaysia will require social media services to apply for a license if they have more than 8 million users in the country from August 1, in an attempt to combat increasing cyber offenses, said the government.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said in a statement on Saturday that the license was in line with cabinet’s decision that social media and internet messaging services comply with Malaysian laws aimed at fighting scams, cyberbullying and sexual crimes.

If social media services fail to apply for a license by Jan. 1, 2025, then legal action will be taken against them, said the commission.

Last week, Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the regulator had issued directives to social media firms to provide feedback on the government’s concerns regarding cybercrime and harmful content found on their platforms. Malaysia reported a sharp increase in harmful social media content earlier this year and urged social media firms, including Facebook parent and short video platform TikTok to step up monitoring on their platforms. Currently, the communications regulator can flag content that contravenes local laws to social media firms but it was up to the platforms to decide on removing content. — Reuters

PARIS — A parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous fresco The Last Supper featuring drag queens in the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris has sparked fury among the Catholic church and far-right politicians, while supporters praised its message of tolerance.

The unprecedented ceremony on the Seine River, which drew millions of viewers around the world, included a tableau celebrating the French capital’s vibrant nightlife and reputation as a place of tolerance, pleasure and subversiveness.

It recreated the famous biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion, but with a group of drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus.

The Catholic church in France criticized the segment.

“This ceremony has unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we very deeply deplore,” the Conference of French bishops said in a statement.

Far-right politicians in France and elsewhere took to social media to express their disgust.

“To all the Christians of the world who are watching the #Paris2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of The Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” far-right politician Marion Marechal said in a post on X.

Her Italian counterpart, Matteo Salvini, added: “Opening the Olympics by insulting billions of Christians in the world was really a very bad start, dear French. Sleazy.”

American billionaire Elon Musk, who cemented his shift towards right-wing politics by endorsing Donald Trump earlier this month, said it was “extremely disrespectful to Christians.”

France, while proud of its rich Catholic heritage, also has a long tradition of secularism and anti-clericalism. Blasphemy is not only legal, but also considered by many as an essential pillar of freedom of speech in a democratic society.

“In France, people are free to love how they please, are free to love whoever they want, are free to believe or not believe,” Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, told reporters on Saturday when asked about critics.

Some commentators said the controversy was just another example of 21^st century culture wars turbocharged by a 24-hour news cycle and social media.

“Everyone has to take offense it seems,” David Aaronovitch, a BBC Radio 4 presenter said on X. “Leonardo is one of the most famous images in the Western world and has been pastiched, parodied and altered tens of thousands of times.”

One of the pastiche’s protagonists was unapologetic, however.

“It wouldn’t be fun if there were no controversy. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone agreed on this planet?” Philippe Katerine, the blue naked man in the scene, told BFM TV a day after the show. — Reuters