If We Are in a War, No More Elections” – Donald Trump’s Dark Joke Fuels Fears Over His Next Move

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows on Monday when he cracked a dark joke about holding onto power past the end of his second term, by dragging the U.S. into a war.

The comment came during his Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump was responding to a reporter’s question about why Ukraine hasn’t held an election. Zelensky’s term, which began in May 2019, was due to end in May 2024, but Russia’s invasion has made voting impossible.

That seemed to spark an unsettling thought for Trump. “During the war you can’t have elections? So let me just see — three and a half years from now, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. That’s good,” he quipped.

It was delivered as a joke, but for a president who has repeatedly floated the idea of a third term, the remark hit a nerve. Trump has never been shy about exploiting obscure rules to his advantage, and critics worry this may be more than casual banter. Netizens showed disappointment on X over his use of words.

One comment wrote, “I can’t believe he joked about that. Like what ?? This is not a funny topic.” Another person said, “It’s not funny…. Cause you know DAMN well it has already crossed his mind, that to me is scary!!! YOU’RE NOT FUNNY TRUMP!!!!” 

He’s already shown a willingness to push legal limits. In March, he dusted off the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act to justify deporting hundreds of Venezuelan migrants without trial.

When pressed if he was serious, he added: “I’m not joking. But I’m not — it is far too early to think about it.”

That tension between “just kidding” and “dead serious” has defined Trump’s political playbook ever since his 2016 entry into politics. Time and again, laws have served as obstacles he tries to bend or bulldoze through.

In 2024, while running for re-election, Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records, tied to hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 vote.

And, of course, on January 6, 2021, he infamously urged thousands of his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to stop Joe Biden’s victory from being certified, after his own vice president, Mike Pence, refused to overturn the results.

More recently, Trump’s administration attempted to scrap birthright citizenship by executive order, a move legal experts quickly labeled “blatantly unconstitutional.” Court battles over that effort are still ongoing.

So when Trump jokes about war as a loophole to stay in power? For many, it feels less like humor and more like another warning sign.