Trump did not elaborate on how things would be “fixed” if he won a second term, but the remark is yet another signal of a decidedly more authoritarian approach to governing than Trump had in his first term. During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said that he would be a “dictator,” but only on “day one” so he could “close the border” and “drill baby drill.” President Joe Biden, for his part, has overseen a 40% drop in illegal border crossings since passing an executive order cracking down on asylum applications and domestic oil production is at an all-time high under Biden. In May, the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the United States is producing more oil than even Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The former president’s suggestion that things would be “fixed” so his supporters would no longer have to vote could be a reference to a Project 2025 partner organization’s call for the abolition of the 22nd Amendment, which established presidential term limits. In a March essay for the American Conservative, writer Paul Tonguette framed repealing the 22nd Amendment as expanding freedom for American voters.

“If, by 2028, voters feel Trump has done a poor job, they can pick another candidate; but if they feel he has delivered on his promises, why should they be denied the freedom to choose him once more?” He wrote. “As with Prohibition, it is simply a matter of finding the will to get rid of bad idea that needlessly limits Americans’ freedom.”

“Trump in 2028!” he added.

In recent weeks, Trump has sought to distance himself from the far-right Heritage Foundation’s authoritarian Project 2025 blueprint for the next Republican administration. Even though Trump has repeatedly denied knowledge of the group’s leaders or the details of Project 2025, Heritage has undercut those denials in its own fundraising materials.

Earlier this week, Media Matters for America reported that Heritage has consistently boasted about its close connections with Trump and his first administration, placing dozens of its alumni in his orbit and some in “key positions” in the Trump White House. The group also proclaimed that Trump implemented roughly two-thirds of its policy proposals in his first year in office.