This was published 4 months ago
Trump would ‘love’ a third term as president. Here’s how his backers reckon it could happen
Updated ,first published
Aboard Air Force One: US President Donald Trump has ruled out running for vice president in the 2028 election but declined to definitively say he would not seek a third term, keeping alive speculation about how he might seek to extend his time in office.
Trump has repeatedly flirted with the idea of serving beyond the constitutionally mandated two terms, joking about it at rallies and teasing supporters with “Trump 2028” hats.
Some allies have taken those signals seriously, suggesting that they are exploring legal or political pathways to make it happen – a possibility dismissed by most constitutional scholars. The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution bars anyone from being elected to the presidency a third time.
Some supporters have suggested that one way around the prohibition would be for Trump to run as vice president, while another candidate stood for election as president and resigned, letting Trump again assume the presidency.
“I’d be allowed to do that,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters aboard Air Force One, as he flew from Malaysia to Tokyo late on Monday.
But he added: “I wouldn’t do that. I think it’s too cute. Yeah, I would rule that out because it’s too cute. I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute. It’s not – it wouldn’t be right.”
Scholars say Trump is barred from running for vice president because he is not eligible to be president. The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution reads: “No person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”
Referring to the possibility of a third term, Trump said: “I would love to do it. I have my best numbers ever.”
When pressed by a reporter whether he was not ruling out a third term, he said: “Am I not ruling it out? I mean you’ll have to tell me.”
Asked about whether he would be willing to fight in court over the legality of another presidential bid, Trump responded, “I haven’t really thought about it.”
Can Donald Trump serve a third term as president?
Is it legal?
The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice”. The amendment also prohibits anyone who assumes the office of the presidency for more than two years of a term to which he or she was not elected – such as a vice president who takes over in an emergency – from being elected more than once.
Has any president served more than two terms?
Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only president in US history to serve more than two terms. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment in 1947, after his fourth consecutive presidential victory.
Could Trump’s allies in Congress change the law?
Changing the 22nd Amendment would require a constitutional amendment; these are extremely rare. Finding enough support in the Senate to pass any measure that expands term limits is highly unlikely.
Any other possible paths to a third term?
Some conservative advocates argue the 22nd Amendment does not explicitly forbid them from serving a third term. A supposed loophole, untested in court, could allow a two-term president to join another candidate’s campaign as their vice-presidential running mate. If that person won, he or she could step down and the vice president would, by law, assume the presidency.
Another possible route could be through serving as speaker of the House. If both the president and vice president were to resign, the speaker could become president.
It’s an idea Trump has frequently teased at rallies, often to ecstatic cheers from supporters. In the past, it could be difficult to discern whether these musings were sincere.
But in a March 30 interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump said he was “not joking” about the possibility. “There are methods [with] which you could do it,” he said. “A lot of people want me to do it.”
Any attempt by Trump to seek a third term would test the limits of the 22nd Amendment.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only president to serve more than two terms. Congress passed the 22nd Amendment in 1947 after he won the 1944 election, his fourth consecutive presidential victory.
George Washington, the first US president, declined to seek a third term after his second ended in 1797. This practice remained an informal tradition until the passage of the amendment 150 years later.
In an interview last week with The Economist, Steve Bannon – the pro-Trump podcaster who briefly served as Trump’s White House chief strategist in his first term – said there was a plan to circumvent the 22nd Amendment and suggested he was involved in developing it.
“Trump is going to be president in ’28, and people ought to just get accommodated with that,” he said. “At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is. But there is a plan.”
In January, Republican representative Andy Ogles introduced an amendment that would allow a former president to be elected to a third presidential term – if his or her first two were non-consecutive. This would prevent all living two-term presidents bar Trump from being elected.
However, finding enough Democratic support in the Senate to expand term limits is highly unlikely. New constitutional amendments are extremely rare. The most recent, which concerned the pay structure for members of Congress – a nonpartisan issue – passed in 1992.
Some conservative advocates back the “vice president” loophole – the one Trump said he would not pursue.
They argue that while the Constitution bars presidents from being “elected” to a third term, it does not explicitly forbid them from serving one.
Michele Goodwin, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University, said the 22nd Amendment was relatively untested.
Though she doesn’t believe the amendment bars a former president from serving as vice president, she predicted the US legal system would not allow a two-term president to assume the presidency again – even through a resignation.
She called the theory a “corrupt concept” that would violate the “the spirit behind the amendment”.
Another possible avenue could be through serving as speaker of the House: under the Constitution, the post does not have to be occupied by a member of Congress – though no non-member has ever served in the role.
A person only has to be nominated as speaker by a member of the House and confirmed by a majority of the chamber’s members. If both the president and vice president were to resign, that unelected speaker would be next in line to become president.
Trump would be aged 82 in 2028 – the oldest US president in history, if he sought another term.
Throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump made former president Joe Biden’s advanced age a focal point, highlighting verbal and physical missteps as evidence that his Democratic rival was too old to effectively lead the country.
Trump on Monday also said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were “great people” who could seek the presidency in 2028.
“I think if they ever formed a group, it’d be unstoppable,” he said.
Rubio, standing behind Trump in the plane cabin, chuckled and bowed his head sheepishly as Trump predicted a bright political future for him, and nodded when Trump brought up Vance.
Reuters, Bloomberg
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.