When Trump suggested to laughter by supporters that it was “treasonous” that Democrats were so stone-faced during his State of the Union address, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said he was “clearly joking.”

Asked during the campaign about his suggestion that Russia help Hillary Clinton find her emails, Trump said: “Of course I’m being sarcastic.”

When Trump was criticized even by law enforcement for telling officers they shouldn’t “be too nice” to suspects (“Like, don’t hit their head, and they just killed somebody”), Sanders said: “I believe he was making a joke at the time.”

After Trump called it “great” that Xi is “now president for life” (“Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday”), he said at a rally: “I’m joking about being president for life.”