Donald Trump headlined a campaign rally in North Carolina about a month ago, which was largely unremarkable except for one unscripted comment: The president told the audience he wouldn’t approve federal disaster relief funds for the state unless they elected former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to the Senate.

In fairness, Trump was apparently kidding (there were audible groans among attendees), but given the circumstances, there was nothing funny about his ugly attempt at humor.

To make matters worse, the president keeps making related remarks that aren’t intended to be funny. Consider the pitch the Republican brought to Kentucky over the weekend, ahead of the Bluegrass State’s Senate race.

Trump prefaced what he described as “breaking news” as the sort of thing Rep. Andy Barr, the GOP’s U.S. Senate nominee in the state, would be “very happy” to hear.

“If the Republicans win, the Department of War will be investing $100 million in the pharmaceutical company Antheia, to revitalize a gigantic drug manufacturing facility in Winchester, Kentucky,” the president said. “That’s a big one. That’s a big revitalization project.”

As part of the same remarks, the Republican said, appearing to address Barr, “But you have to win, Andy, otherwise, forget it.” Trump added that if “the Democrats win,” the project won’t happen.

Trump didn’t bother to explain why, exactly, the investment would fall apart if there was a Democratic majority, except to say that Democrats “have no idea.” No idea about what? He didn’t say.

The rhetoric raised all sorts of questions — including why the Defense Department would be investing in a drug manufacturing facility, as opposed to a department related to public health — which the president made no effort to answer. When USA Today asked the Pentagon what Trump was referring to, the DOD press office declined to comment.

But as important as the details are, the nature of the pitch was itself bizarre. The president seemed to be telling a group of Kentucky voters that he’d like to invest in a major revitalization project in a part of their state, but if he’s not satisfied with the election results, he simply won’t bother.

Trump makes similar comments all the time. One of the only new ideas he’s pitching as part of the midterm cycle is a vow to send $5,000 checks to every American adult — at a cost of roughly $1.3 trillion — but only if the election results make him happy.

If that weren’t enough, the president headlined a rally in Ohio earlier this month, when he suggested he would look unfavorably at emergency aid requests from Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the Buckeye State.

“I’m not going to help her, probably,” Trump said. “She hates me, I guess.”

What we’re left with is a president who has abandoned all subtlety when it comes to embracing a transactional message. He has goodies he wants to hand out, and the public will benefit from his benevolence — unless voters dare to hurt his feelings and support candidates who oppose him.

This isn’t how elections are supposed to work in a healthy democracy. Evidently, Trump doesn’t care.

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