Did Trump explicitly say he wanted a war to postpone the 2028 election?
Executive summary
President Trump twice publicly quipped that “if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections,” during an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and multiple outlets reported the remark as a joke or jibe [1][2][3]. Reporting and fact-checks make clear, however, that this was not an explicit admission of a plan to start a war to cancel the 2028 election; it was a public quip that critics warn feeds a longer pattern of rhetoric about staying in power [4][5][6].
1. What he actually said — the line on the record
On Aug. 18, 2025, during a press interaction in the Oval Office, Trump interjected while Zelenskyy discussed how war affects the ability to hold elections, saying in essence: “So let me just say, three and a half years from now — if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections,” a line captured on video and run by C-SPAN and widely quoted by news outlets [1][7][8]. Multiple outlets transcribed the moment the same way and noted laughter from those present, framing it as a quip rather than a policy announcement [2][3].
2. How reporters and commentators framed the remark
Mainstream coverage presented the comment as a joking aside that nevertheless raised alarm among critics; People, HuffPost and Salon reported the line as Trump “joking” about extending his stay in office or “starting a conflict” to delay elections [2][3][4]. Opinion and magazine pieces treated it as part of a pattern of rhetoric about remaining in power, with MSNBC’s blog arguing that the remark was “not funny” given the stakes and the president’s prior comments about term limits [5]. Fact-check and explanatory reporting emphasized that the moment was captured on camera and publicly voiced, not merely a private remark [1][6].
3. Legal and historical reality cited by fact-checkers
Independent fact-checkers and reporting note that U.S. presidential elections have been held even in extreme crises — including during the Civil War — and that the date of presidential elections is set by Congress, with administration authority alone insufficient to “postpone” a presidential contest [6][5]. Analysts cited by PBS and MSNBC explained that even in hypothetical wartime scenarios, the presidency does not give unilateral power to cancel federal elections, undercutting any literal reading that a president could simply halt the 2028 vote [6][5].
4. Why critics read more into a quip — pattern and context
Critics connected the quip to a broader pattern: Trump has previously floated staying in power beyond two terms in public remarks and merchandising, and allies like Steve Bannon have discussed “alternatives” and loopholes to term limits — context that makes such a joke resonate as more than idle banter for opponents [2][4]. Congressional Democrats and commentators warned the quip could be used as rhetorical cover for future claims of emergency or “war from within” scenarios that might be invoked to justify extraordinary measures, a reading reported in The Hill and other outlets [9].
5. Bottom line — did he explicitly say he wanted a war to postpone 2028?
No source in the reporting documents an explicit statement by President Trump saying he intends to start a war to postpone the 2028 election; the record shows a publicly recorded quip that “if we happen to be in a war… no more elections,” delivered with laughter and reported as a joke by multiple outlets [1][2][3]. That said, reporters, fact-checkers and critics uniformly caution that the remark is alarming in context — part of a pattern of rhetoric and behavior that makes such a quip politically consequential even if it does not amount to an explicit admission of intent to start a war [5][4][9]. Reporting does not provide evidence of an operational plan or directive to create a conflict for the purpose of canceling elections, and it documents legal and constitutional constraints that make unilateral postponement implausible [6][5].