Yes, he really said it

Trump initially drew attention to the fact that Ukraine has not held a presidential election since 2019, when Zelensky - previously a comedian with no political base - swept to power.

...

Some experts have observed that holding elections in Ukraine before the conflict ends would be practically impossible, as Russian attacks on many cities persist and millions of citizens are displaced abroad or living under Russian occupation.

Hmm, so I wonder why Trump might say that.

Trump's intervention on the subject came just hours after the Kremlin questioned Zelensky's legitimacy as his term in office has ended, a claim Moscow has repeatedly made in the past months.

Ah, now it makes sense.

How about this: end the war with the condition that Ukraine holds an election within 6 months. I'm pretty sure Zelensky will accept that.

Oh, and this is great:

President Trump also claimed that Zelensky's approval rating has fallen to 4%.

It's unclear what source the president was citing as he didn't provide evidence. We have asked the White House to clarify this.

Official polling is limited and it is extremely difficult to carry out accurate surveys during a time of war. Millions of Ukrainians have fled and Russia has occupied around a fifth of the country.

However, some polling has been possible to carry out by telephone. A survey conducted this month found that 57% of Ukrainians said they trusted the president, according to the Ukraine-based Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

However, that was down from 77% at the end of 2023, and 90% in May 2022 - suggesting that the president has suffered a drop-off in his popularity.