United States President Donald Trump refused to rule out a bid for a third presidential term on Monday, despite the US Constitution limiting presidents to two terms of four years each. He is currently serving his second term.
“I would love to do it,” Trump, 79, told reporters on board Air Force One en route to Japan during his weeklong tour of Asia. “I have my best numbers ever.”
Monday’s indication from Trump, the oldest US president ever to take office, was perhaps the clearest yet among his repeated claims that he might run again for office in 2028 – when he would be more than 82.
Trump already has a $50 baseball cap on sale, emblazoned with the slogan “Trump 2028”. The president pointed out a hat with the words “four more years” – on display in the White House gift shop, alongside other Trump 2028 hats – to European leaders Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron as they toured the presidential residence in Washington, DC, in August.
So, how serious might Trump actually be about running in 2028? And can he find a way to do it?
What has Trump said about running for a third term?
After leaving the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia on Monday, Trump was on board Air Force One when reporters asked questions about the prospect of a 2028 presidential bid.
“I would love to do it,” Trump said.
“Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me,” Trump said after reporters pressed him on the matter. “All I can tell you is that we have a great, a great group of people, which they don’t,” he replied, referring to the Democratic Party.
When confronted with the question of whether he was willing to take the fight for another presidential bid to the courts, Trump responded: “I haven’t really thought about it.
“We have some very good people, as you know, but I’ve had, I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had,” Trump repeated.
Trump also pondered who might make good Republican candidates for the 2028 presidential contest and named people from his own administration.
“We have great people. I don’t have to get into that, but we have one of them standing right here. We have, JD, obviously the vice president is great. Marco’s great,” Trump said, referring to Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump also shared that, regarding the health tests he underwent at Walter Reed hospital earlier this month, “the doctor said some of the best reports for the age, some of the best reports they’ve ever seen.”
“It was perfect,” the president said.
What does the US Constitution say about all this?
The US Constitution clearly bars any candidate from holding the office of president for a third time. Amendment 22 of the Constitution states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Constitutional experts say there is no way around it.
The 22nd Amendment was passed by Congress in 1947 and later ratified in 1951. It was a direct response to the presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt, a Democrat who was president during World War II. Roosevelt took the office four times – 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944.
He died months into his fourth term in 1945.
Wayne Unger, a law professor at Quinnipiac University, told the Reuters news agency that while the amendment has never been tested in court, any challenge by Trump would likely be unsuccessful.
“I would predict the Supreme Court to say nope, it’s clear, two terms of four years each, Donald Trump, you cannot run for a third,” said Unger, who teaches constitutional law.
What would it take to change the 22nd Amendment?
Before Roosevelt, presidents followed George Washington’s two-term precedent voluntarily.
To protect against over-concentration of power, the Republicans had proposed the amendment limiting the election to two times.
To amend it again, the proposal would require an approval by two-thirds of Congress and to be ratified by three-quarters of states (38 out of 50 states) – an extremely high bar.
Currently, Trump’s party holds a razor-thin 219-213 majority in the House and a 53-47 majority in the Senate, while the Republicans control 28 state legislatures.
Are there ways around this, such as running for vice president instead?
Constitutional experts say there is no way to skirt the laws and assume office for a third time.
MAGA supporters and leaders from Trump’s camp have suggested he run as vice president and then have the candidate for president resign after taking the office, which would install him in the White House again.
This is somewhat like the Netflix hit House of Cards, in which the lead character, Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, becomes president through manipulation and political scheming. “One heartbeat away from the presidency, and not a single vote cast in my name,” he says, famously. “Democracy is so overrated.”
But Trump dismissed that MAGA musing on Monday.
“I’d be allowed to do that,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. But he said he thinks “it’s too cute.
“I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute. It’s not – it wouldn’t be right,” he said.
In theory, Trump is barred from running for vice president as well because he is not eligible to be president. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution notes that no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible for that of vice president of the US.
How has Trump changed his stance on this over time?
It all began with a musing at a private fundraiser for Republican donors in 2018, when President Trump, in his first term, praised China’s Xi Jinping for becoming “president for life”.
“I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday,” he said, reportedly drawing laughter and applause.
Then, speaking at a Turning Point USA summit, hosted by the late Charlie Kirk, a delighted crowd chanted “four more years”. Trump expressed his gratitude, then added: “Now, if you want to drive them crazy, go, ‘16 more years. Sixteen more years!’”
He repeated the drill, in August 2020, at a campaign event in Charlotte, North Carolina, urging the crowd: “If you really wanna drive ’em crazy, say ’12 more years’!”
Since he assumed office for his second term as president in January this year, he has been musing on this issue more often.
In an interview with NBC News in April, Trump said there were “methods” for him to potentially serve again, without explaining further. Later that month, Trump told Time magazine that his team had explored possible legal pathways to a third term.
“There are some loopholes that have been discussed. But I don’t believe in loopholes,” he said, without specifying what they were.
The following month, however, in another NBC interview, Trump walked this back, saying: “This is not something I’m looking to do,” referring to a third bid for office.
“I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody – ideally a great Republican – to carry it forward.”
But then he appeared to be back at it again, flaunting the “Trump 2028” merchandise to European leaders at the White House and his glowing hospital results to reporters on Air Force One, deeming himself fit for another shot at the office.
How popular is Trump right now?
Polling aggregators suggest that the US president’s approval ratings have been declining since he took office in January, falling from as high as 52 percent.
A Quinnipiac poll released last week found only 40 percent of voters approve of Trump as president, compared with 54 percent who disapprove. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump’s net unfavourability with a 56 percent disapproval rating.
Trump’s average approval numbers have been rated to be the lowest among US presidents, according to Gallup polling, the longest-running presidential pollster since the 1940s.
According to a survey released by Langer Research Associates in April, 62 percent of Americans believe Trump is serious when he talks about running again in violation of the Constitution. Some Republican lawmakers have also backed Trump’s bid for another turn at the office. However, 80 percent of Americans oppose this idea, according to the survey.
