During the Ukrainian president’s latest visit to the Oval Office, this came up in an unexpected way. NBC News reported:

In response to a question about whether Zelenskyy intends to hold elections in his country, last conducted in 2019 before a pause due to the ongoing war, Trump quipped about adopting a similar approach. ‘So you say, during the war, you can’t have elections,’ Trump responded. ‘Say, three and a half years from now — so you mean, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections.’

In context, the Republican made the comments in a joking way.

Trump to Zelenskyy: "During the war you can't have elections? So let me just see -- three and a half years from me, if we happen to be in a way with somebody, no more elections. That's good."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-08-18T17:34:45.454Z

Given the larger circumstances, Trump’s attempt at humor wasn’t exactly funny.

To the extent that substantive details matter, Ukraine didn’t suspend its elections simply because it’s at war, but rather, because an invading military force is currently occupying a significant chunk of its territory while targeting civilians in the rest of the country. Trump made it sound as if the 2028 cycle might somehow be in doubt “if we happen to be in a war with somebody,” but that’s not how any of this works.......

Indeed, as recently as last week, after militarizing the nation’s capital without cause, Trump noted that his critics have called him a “dictator” — a claim he dismissed, not as wrong, but as irrelevant.

And did I mention that after he lost his 2020 re-election bid, Trump launched an effort to overturn the results and remain in office anyway, leading to multiple felony charges? Because that happened, too.

With this in mind, it was tough to laugh at his “joke.”