Make me president – it may be 'the only way I'm going to get to heaven!' Trump asks pastors

A subdued Donald Trump spoke to a group of 700 Florida pastors on Thursday, urging them to convince their congregations to vote for him in November.

'Go out and spread the word,' he said at the Orlando Convention Center. 'And once I get in I will do my thing that I do very well.'

'And I figure it's maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven, so I'd better do a good job.'

Trump spoke for 38 minutes with just a few notes. He didn't quote scripture – no mention of 'two Corinthians' – or talk at length about his Presbyterian church upbringing. 

But he drew applause when he said he had had a pair of pre-set teleprompters removed from the stage.I had a long beautiful speech written,' he said, 'and I read it. And I said, "Boy, this is boring!"'

'I said, "Take down those teleprompters. Let's talk".'

Trump spoke mainly about repealing a 1954 patch in the U.S. tax-code pushed by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, which forbids tax-exempt groups from endorsing or opposing political candidates, or contributing to their campaigns.

The measure, which passed without debate, covers every recognized church in America – but also universities, social welfare groups and other charities.

Trump has framed the issue exclusively as a crisis of religious freedom in order to attract support from evangelical Christians.

'Without religious liberty you don't have liberty,' he said Thursday.

Johnson 'silenced the ministers and the pastors and the rabbis and the priests, and the people of religion.'