President Donald Trump confirmed he voted by mail in Florida’s special election Tuesday, but he pivoted from the media attack point to note his mail-in ballot reform agenda provides for «exceptions» — and not only because he has the privilege of being president.

«Yeah, I did,» Trump shot back at a reporter Thursday at his second Cabinet meeting of 2026. «You know what? Because I’m president of the United States.»

«And because of the fact that I’m president of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for elections that took place in Florida because I felt I should be here instead of being in the beautiful sunshine.»

The reporter noted Trump was at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, before the Palm Beach County election held Tuesday for a state senator and a state representative.

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«That’s right, and I decided that I was going to vote by mail-in ballot because I couldn’t be there,» Trump said, adding, «I had a lot of different things» going on.

Trump was at Mar-a-Lago for the weekend, in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday for a forum on crime, and then back in Washington, D.C., for the rest of the week, including delivering a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday night.

Still, Trump proudly reminded the reporter, he is not being hypocritical in rebuking mail-in ballot fraud while voting by mail.

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President Donald Trump pulled no punches at his second Cabinet meeting of 2026, calling Iran ‘lousy fighters’ and questioning who is leading the country with so many voices speaking from the shadows against peace. (Jim WATSON / AFP)

«You know, we have exceptions for mail-in ballots,» Trump said. «You do know that, right? So if you’re away, you have an exception. If you’re in the military, we have an exception. If you’re on a business trip, we have an exception. If you’re disabled, we have an exception. And if you’re ill, if you’re not feeling good.

«So I was away mostly in Washington, D.C., so I used a mail-in ballot.»

Trump rebuked voting by mail as «mail-in cheating» at his Memphis stop.

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«I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all,» Trump said. «And it’s part of Homeland Security.»

Trump said Sunday his fellow Republicans should not reach an agreement on funding the Department of ​Homeland Security until Democrats in Congress approve a bill — the SAVE America Act — that requires people registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.

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Trump also pushed for Democrat approval of other items he wants added to the bill, including banning transgender women from women’s sports, outlawing «transgender mutilation of our children» and restricting mail-in ballots except in cases of illness, disability, military service or travel.

«As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel – but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,» White House spokesperson Olivia Wales wrote in an email earlier this week.

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It was not the first time Trump has voted by mail. He voted by absentee ballot in the 2018 midterm elections, a White House spokesperson said at the time. Trump had requested an absentee ballot but decided to vote in person in 2020.

Reuters contributed to this report.

La geografía es estrategia.

Potencia de fuego oculta

Pero puede que las minas sean la mayor amenaza.

Riesgos sobre el terreno

Los límites del éxito

U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine are being tied to Kyiv ceding the eastern Donbas region to Russia as part of a potential peace deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters in an interview published Thursday.

«The Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas,» Zelenskyy said, describing a proposal he warned could undermine both Ukraine’s defenses and broader European security.

But a U.S. official, speaking on background, told Fox News Digital the claim is false.

Zelenskyy’s comments point to growing pressure from President Donald Trump to reach a swift end to the war, now in its fourth year following Russia’s 2022 invasion. 

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Zelenskyy suggested the administration’s approach is influenced in part by competing global crises, including the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

«The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump,» Zelenskyy said. «President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side.»

Talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine have taken place in Abu Dhabi and Geneva in 2026, but key issues remain unresolved, including how Ukraine’s future security would be guaranteed and who would fund its long-term defense.

Zelenskyy warned that abandoning Donbas would hand Russia heavily fortified Ukrainian defensive lines, weakening Kyiv’s position and potentially enabling future aggression.

«I would very much like the American side to understand that the eastern part of our country is part of our security guarantees,» he said.

ZELENSKYY CLAIMS TRUMP SAID US WILL CONSIDER GIVING UKRAINE DECADES OF SECURITY GUARANTEES

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that abandoning Donbas would hand Russia heavily fortified Ukrainian defensive lines.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long insisted that full control of Donbas is central to Moscow’s war aims. While Russian forces have made gains, analysts cited by Reuters say progress has been slow, and capturing the remaining territory could take significant time and manpower.

Zelenskyy also warned that Moscow is betting Washington will lose interest if negotiations stall. 

«Russia is counting on the fact that the United States will not have the strength or patience to bring this to an end,» he said.

Despite tensions over negotiations, Zelenskyy thanked the Trump administration for continuing deliveries of Patriot missile defense systems, which Ukraine relies on to intercept Russian ballistic missiles. 

«Deliveries to us were not stopped. I’m very grateful to President Trump, and to his team,» he said, while adding that supplies remain insufficient.

In parallel with the diplomatic push, Zelenskyy signaled a broader strategy to expand Ukraine’s role as a security provider, particularly in the Middle East, where countries are seeking solutions to large-scale drone and missile threats.

UKRAINE PEACE TALKS PRODUCTIVE AS EX-GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SAYS COUNTRY RETHINKING ‘UNCOMPROMISING’ STANCE

A cemetery worker prepares a burial vault at military cemetery outside of the city of Dnipro, Ukraine, May 25, 2023. (Seth Herald/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

«The United States has reached out to us regarding their bases in Middle Eastern countries,» Zelenskyy wrote on X Thursday, adding that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait have also approached Ukraine.

He said Ukrainian teams are already on the ground sharing operational experience, particularly in countering mass drone attacks. 

«No matter how many Patriots, THAADs, or other air defense systems are in the Middle East, that alone is not enough,» he wrote. «There are modern interceptors designed to counter heavy drone strikes.»

Zelenskyy also indicated Ukraine is exploring defense trade arrangements, offering to sell surplus systems and expertise while seeking access to air defense missiles it currently lacks. 

«Funding is the scarcest resource today,» he wrote, noting Ukraine’s defense industry is operating at roughly half capacity and needs additional financing to scale drone production.

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Ukraine is exploring defense trade arrangements, the country’s president said.  (Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters)

In separate posts tied to an address at a Joint Expeditionary Force summit, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine’s battlefield experience could play a broader role in European and global security.

«We have this experience. … Let’s bring all of this together even more,» he wrote, calling for deeper cooperation with European partners and warning that the continent must build its own capacity to produce air defense systems rather than rely on external suppliers.

Reuters contributed to this story.