Trump says he’s exploring options for serving a third presidential term
US President Donald Trump has said that he is contemplating ways to serve a third term as president, emphasizing that he is not joking about the possibility.
In an interview with NBC News from his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump indicated there are potential methods to overcome the constitutional limit on presidential terms.
He later expanded on this in a conversation with reporters on Air Force One, claiming that many people have urged him to pursue a third term, which he described as a fourth term due to his belief that the 2020 election was rigged, despite losing it to Joe Biden.
However, Trump noted that he was not ready to focus on the idea of a third term, as there is still a long time until his second term ends. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, restricts any person from being elected president more than twice.
While any attempt to extend his presidency would face significant legal challenges, Trump’s comments highlight his continuing desire to maintain power, echoing his previous attempts to contest the 2020 election results.
Rep. Daniel Goldman, a Democrat from New York and lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment, criticized the remarks as part of a broader effort to dismantle democratic norms, urging Congressional Republicans to oppose Trump’s aspirations for a third term.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference last month, Steve Bannon, a former Trump strategist, endorsed Trump’s potential 2028 run, while some supporters, like Kayla Thompson from Wisconsin, expressed strong backing for Trump to return for another term, believing that the country is on the right path under his leadership.
Constitutional law experts, such as Jeremy Paul from Northeastern University, dismissed the idea of Trump running for a third term, citing the clear legal barriers. Trump was also asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker about a hypothetical situation where Vice President JD Vance runs for president and hands the office to Trump, to which Trump acknowledged that this was one possibility but did not elaborate on others.
Election law professor Derek Muller pointed out that the 12th Amendment disqualifies anyone who is ineligible for the presidency from running for vice president, meaning that Trump could not circumvent term limits by seeking the vice-presidency.
Muller also noted that the pursuit of a third term would require cooperation from various political and legal authorities, and suggested that Trump’s talk about a third term might be more about asserting political strength as a “lame-duck” president.
Trump, who would be 82 at the end of his second term, said he enjoys working and would be willing to continue in the role. He also claimed that his popularity would make a third term feasible, citing inflated polling numbers. However, Gallup data shows that Trump’s approval rating never exceeded 47% during his second term, far lower than historical peaks seen by previous presidents.
Trump has previously joked about the possibility of serving beyond two terms, raising the idea playfully in front of supportive audiences. There was no immediate response from congressional leaders to Trump’s comments.