Donald Trump says he is "not joking" about a possible third term as US president.
Image: Erin Schaff / Getty Images / AFP
Constitutionally, Donald Trump cannot be elected to a third term as president, but that’s not stopping him from talking about it—and that rhetoric is already on the rise, just 69 days into his second term. Trump, on Sunday, told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that “a lot of people” wanted him to serve a third term, adding he was “not joking” about the idea.
Saying there were “methods” to maneuver around the two-term limit spelled out in the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution set off a lot of alarms among Democrats and Republicans who oppose Trump.
Trump, who had floated the idea of running a third time before, said he had not been presented with plans that could, conceptually, keep him in office, but acknowledged one possible way would be for JD Vance to be elected and pass the office on to Trump (who would run as vice president).
Trump is legally prohibited from running for a third term. The 22nd Amendment sets a two-term limit for presidents, clearly stating “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
While the Constitution can be interpreted in many ways, that’s an amendment that seems remarkably straightforward—and while it might appear to quickly clear things up, the last few months have deftly illustrated that rules are being changed in 2025.
With a Republican-controlled Senate and House, there has been talk of amending the Constitution, but that would be a Herculean feat. The act of proposing an amendment alone would require two-thirds majorities in both Congressional bodies and the Republicans, simply put, don’t have the votes. Ratifying it, meanwhile, would require the sign-off of three-quarters of all state legislatures.
That’s not stopping some Trump loyalists from making the effort. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee has introduced a resolution to amend the Constitution to read: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms.”
The chances of passage for the bill (which appears to be carefully written to bar Democratic president Barack Obama from running again) are considered the longest of long shots.
Running Vance (or any Republican) as a presidential candidate, who resigns upon taking office is something of a leap already. Would Vance (or any politician) be willing to put aside his (or her) own ambitions to hand a presidency to VP Trump after being elected president? That’s questionable.
However, the 12th Amendment of the Constitution basically makes that sort of action illegal. It states that, “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice president of the United States.”
Some allies, including Stephen Bannon, have suggested a Constitutional loophole exists, though haven’t offered details.
One possible way to sidestep the Constitution would be for Trump to declare a state of emergency as the election nears. That could give him executive powers that are virtually unprecedented (should he have the backing of the Supreme Court) and could open the door to an extended term. Franklin Roosevelt, while Democratically elected, cited World War II as the reason he was breaking the traditional two-term cap. (The 22nd Amendment was passed after his presidency was over.)
Trump has made several curious comments over the past year with regards to the 2028 election, perhaps the strangest of which was his remarks to a Christian group where he said, “In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”
There is, of course, another possibility here. The chatter of a third term could be yet another distraction for Trump’s political opponents, diverting their focus while he enacts changes that would normally garner their attention. Trump has pulled a similar play many times before.
While Trump has said he’s seriously considering attempting to find a way to control the Oval Office for a third time, he also says he’s not making it his priority at the moment. “I’m not joking,” Trump told Welker. “But, I’m not . . . it is far too early to think about it.”
Should he find a way to run again, Trump would be 82 years old. He is already the oldest person to be elected to the office.
