Donald Trump gave an alarming hint about the political future of the U.S. during a speech at the White House Congressional Ball on Thursday.
The 79-year-old president, who has touted the idea of running for president in 2028 multiple times, made an alarming statement, contradicting the U.S. Constitution, which states that no president can serve for more than two terms.
Highlights
- President Trump hinted at running for a third presidential term in 2028, despite the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to two terms.
- Trump’s comments at the White House Congressional Ball echoed a Truth Social video depicting him as president far into the future.
- Some GOP figures, including Lindsey Graham and Steve Bannon, have discussed legal strategies to bypass constitutional term limits.
Trump spoke to the audience, with First Lady Melania Trump standing beside him.
Trump hinted at running for president in 2028, a step that would contradict the Constitution
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
“We’re going to have a great three years, four years, 10 years, we’re going to make it great. Our country’s going to be strong, safe, rich, it’s going to be great. We’re going to make America great again!” he said.
His comments came at the end of his holiday message at the event.
The comments echo a Truth Social video he posted in October. In the video, Trump showed himself ruling for thousands of years into the future as he stood above a pro-Trump lawn sign that continued to the year 9000.
At the end, the sign stated “EEEEEE” and “4EVA.”
Trump’s official merchandise store has also promoted the idea of his political future. Since April, it has sold “Trump 2028” hats, encouraging supporters to buy them to “make a statement” by wearing them.
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” the 22nd Amendment states.
Some of Trump’s allies have also discussed ways around the Constitution’s term limits. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and former White House strategist Steve Bannon have both mentioned exploring legal options to allow a third Trump term.
Bannon told his podcast audience that Trump had told him that Bannon “can drive a Mack truck through the 22nd Amendment.”
In March, Trump told NBC News he was “not joking” about the possibility of running for a third term. “There are methods which you could do it,” he said at the time.
Bannon told The Economist in October that there were “many different alternatives” to overcoming the 22nd Amendment. “At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is, but there’s a plan and President Trump will be the president in ’28,” Bannon said.
In November, he said he was in talks with “one of the top constitutional lawyers” in the U.S. about potential paths to a third Trump term.
Others, including Elon Musk, have voiced support for keeping Trump’s power in place.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon says there’s a plan for Trump to be president in 2028
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A popular loophole that has been suggested is that Vice President JD Vance could run in 2028 with Trump as his vice president, then step aside to let Trump take over. However, this would also violate the Constitution, which prevents anyone ineligible to be president from serving as vice president.
A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that among voters who backed Trump in 2024, 45% oppose the president running for a third term in 2028, while 43% support the idea.
In a Yale Youth survey from earlier this month, Vance was the leading contender for Republicans in 2028 in a Donald Trump-free scenario.
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
The poll also tested a hypothetical situation in which Trump seeks a third term, in which case 50% of Republican respondents said they would support Trump.
Overall, Trump is facing the sharpest slump of his second term, and new polls suggest voters turning away from him on the very issues that built his political brand. Several polls show that his approval rating is at its lowest of his second term.
Legal experts remain skeptical about Trump being able to run for a third term. To amend the Constitution, it would require two-thirds approval from both the Senate and House of Representatives, along with approval from three-quarters of the country’s state-level governments.
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
While the Republicans currently control both the House and the Senate, they do not have the majorities needed.
James Sample, a constitutional law professor at Hofstra University, told Newsweek there is “precisely zero” chance of repealing the 22nd Amendment under the current political conditions.