'Says the quiet part out loud': Trump ripped for off-topic voter fraud rant during Zelensky meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during a meeting at the Oval Office of the White House, amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Three days after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump continued to address the Russian/Ukraine War during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House Oval Office on Monday afternoon, August 18.

Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance angrily berated Zelensky during a White House press conference back in February, but this time, Trump was much more polite to the Ukrainian leader and emphasized that he would like to see the war end as soon as possible.

Trump covered a lot of ground during the presser, including matters unrelated to the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

During the presser, Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) continued to obsess over Zelensky's attire, referencing Brian Glenn of Real America's Voice and posting, on X.com (formerly Twitter), "I'd like to recognize @brianglenntv for his success in upholding the proper White House wardrobe attire. If Brian had never asked Zelenskyy the question, 'why don't you wear a suit, do you own a suit?' I'm not sure he would have ever worn one to visit our great and respected President!!"

Trump, meanwhile, ranted about mail-in ballots during the presser, claiming, without evidence, that they are a major source of voter fraud.

Trump told reporters, "The Democrats want it because they have horrible policy. If you have mail-in voting, you're not going to have many Democrats get elected. That's bigger than anything having to do with redistricting, believe me."

In a detailed post on X, journalist Terry Moran observed, "Trump is ranting about voter fraud. Again. As usual, he offers zero proof for his claims. There's one thing I know for a fact about voter fraud: There is no voter fraud of any consequence anywhere in the US. And the reason I know that is that the Republican Party has proven it to me. For decades, the Republican Party has been searching high and low, in every corner of our country, for evidence of voter fraud. The GOP has been armed with vast amounts of power and money in this search; it's one of the most massive efforts to examine voting records in our history."

Earlier in the day, on his Truth Social platform, Trump raised the possibility of issuing an executive order forbidding mail-in ballots.

On X, Vote Beat's Carter Walker highlighted comments by Derek T. Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University. Muller, Walker noted, told the Wall Street Journal, "The president doesn't have any unilateral authority over election devices, and the states principally control presidential elections."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted video of Trump's comments on mail-in voting, warning, "Trump says the quiet part out loud. Turns out — if you don't suppress the vote, Democrats win."