The White House tried to dial down the noise on January 15, 2026, after President Donald Trump made headlines for “joking” that the country “shouldn’t even have an election,” a remark that quickly raised eyebrows as the 2026 midterm looms ahead.
White House clarifies what Donald Trump’s election comment meant
“The president was simply joking,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about Donald Trump’s comment that “We shouldn’t even have an election.” She added, “He was saying: We’re doing such a great job, we’re doing everything the American people thought, maybe we should just keep rolling. But he was speaking facetiously.”
The clarification followed Trump’s interview with Reuters, published on the same day, where he mused about electoral patterns. “It’s some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don’t win the midterms,” Trump said. The press secretary’s explanation aimed to neutralize concerns that the president was undermining democratic norms.
“Are you saying that the president finds the idea of canceling elections funny?” reporter Andrew Feinberg asked in a follow-up. “Were you in the room?” Leavitt retorted. “I was in the room […] and only someone like you would take that so seriously and pose it as a question in that way.”
This incident is not isolated. Earlier this month, at a Republican congressional retreat, Trump complained about having to “even run against these people,” referencing Democrats. He then added, “Now, I won’t say ‘cancel the election, they should cancel the election,’ because the fake news will say he wants the elections canceled. ‘He’s a dictator.’ They always call me a dictator” (via Rolling Stone).
These comments come as the Republican Party contends with slipping approval ratings and growing voter discontent ahead of the 2026 midterms. While the White House frames the latest remark as offhand humor, critics argue it contributes to a pattern of rhetoric that challenges the foundational principles of American democracy.
