Since 2015, news media have repeatedly either treated Donald Trump as a joke or have ignored his real cognitive stumbles. They’ve done it again regarding his comment about postponing the 2028 election.
Heather Cox Richardson succinctly summarized Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies better than any traditional news organization:
At today’s meetings, Trump repeated Russian talking points, complained about how poorly he is treated, said he had ended six wars, insisted that voting in the U.S. is full of fraud, and suggested he would cancel the 2028 elections. By the late afternoon, the president was unable to recognize President Stubb, who was sitting directly across the table from him. “President Stubb of Finland,” Trump said. Looking around, Trump continued: “And he’s uh, he’s somebody that, where are we here? Huh? Where? Where?” Stubb said, “I’m right here.” Trump focused on him and answered: “Oh. You look better than I’ve ever seen you look (emphasis added).”
News organizations have treated his comment about canceling elections as a joke:
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.’
Talk about wagging the dog.
This is not the first time Trump has ‘joked’ about no need for another election. From 2024:
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.”
Nothing that Trump asserts should be treated as a joke, least of all this statement. From MSNBC:
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.
Looking further back, take Covid-19 for example:
Was he joking or not? That was the big question emerging from President Trump’s Tulsa rally on June 20, when he said “the bad part” about widespread coronavirus testing is the increased number of cases it reveals. “When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases,” Trump said. “So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’?”
Or police brutality, first in 2017:
His suggestion to police officers in 2017 to “don’t be too nice” when putting suspects into the backseats of squad cars was, according to the White House, another example of Trump’s joshing (emphasis added).
And now in 2025, as he occupies the District of Columbia:
Trump said Metropolitan police will operate more aggressively under federal control for at least the next 30 days. Trump said cops will be allowed to do “whatever the hell they want (emphasis added).”
No one has claimed that was a joke, at least. We’ll leave the cognitive disfunction that HCR highlighted for another day.
When will the pundit class learn that “when people show you who they are, believe them“?
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com