US President Donald Trump made an incredibly worrying comment during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's latest visit to the White House, leaving many concerned that World War 3 could be on the horizon.
One thing that there's certainly no shortage of during the current Trump administration is bizarre comments and quips, from his wild claims about Elon Musk to his thoughts on the most valuable company in the world.
He's never shied away from letting the world know what he's thinking, no matter how dangerous those comments could be, and that has left plenty of people worried after a conversation with Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president's second visit to the White House this year already got off to a rocky start as a hot mic unintentionally picked up Trump's thoughts on Putin, and his latest quip could rival the fiery confrontation that dominated Zelenskyy's last trip.
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What was Trump's worrying quip to Zelenskyy?
As reported by UNILAD, a rather awkward moment began when Trump pushed Zelenskyy on holding elections in the near future — something that the US president has remained adamant on despite the ongoing conflict.
Zelenskyy outlined that he was 'open to holding an election in Ukraine', satisfying Trump's request, although he clarified that this would still have to wait as 'during a war you can't have elections'.
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This comment certainly captured Trump's attention for all the wrong reasons, causing the president to butt in and make sure he heard that right.
"So you say during the war, you can't have elections," asked Trump. "So let me just say, three and a half years from now. So you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections," he semi-joked.
Laughing, perhaps awkwardly, Zelenskyy commented: "You like this idea."
Why are people now worried about WW3?
You only have to put two and two together to start to worry that Trump could use a war – particularly one on the scale of a global conflict – to retain his place in office despite reaching the two-term limit.
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While it would remain uncertain whether he would win again through a vote if he was allowed to run for a third time – something that is banned by the constitution – but having America engaged in warfare would hypothetically mean that an election couldn't take place, allowing him to continue on as president until the conflict was over.
With many predictions estimating that we're teetering dangerously close to WW3 as it is, some have argued that this could prove to be the catalyst, pushing the world into chaos simply because Trump wants to hold on to power for a little while longer.
From a logistical standpoint though it would likely take parts an invasion or heavy attack on parts of America in order for elections to be suspended, similar to what Ukraine has suffered in the past three years, instead of the United States simply being involved in a war that takes place overseas.
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"If the USA didn't have elections when there was a war on, George Washington would still be president," jokes one commenter on Reddit in response to Trump's comments, and that certainly puts things into perspective.