President Donald Trump gave his strongest indication yet that he would consider running for a third term as president, saying he’s “not joking” and suggesting “there are methods” to do so.
In a phone call on Sunday with NBC News, Trump signaled he has received some backing for what would be an unconstitutional third term in the White House, while clarifying it’s still early to make a decision and he’s focused on the work of his second administration.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” the president said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
“I’m focused on the current,” Trump added.
Trump then went so far as to suggest there are “methods” to seek a third term that would not contravene the Constitution, which bars presidents from serving more than two terms. One of these, he indicated, would be if Vice President JD Vance ran in 2028, only to pass the presidency to Trump.
Trump did not list any other way a third term could be constitutional.
A hypothetical third Trump term does have the backing of one of his former aides, Steve Bannon. There is also some movement in Congress to extend the two-term limit. In late January, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) proposed amending the Constitution to allow a president to be elected to as many as three terms.
Amending the Constitution, however, would be very difficult and require either a two-thirds vote of Congress or two-thirds of the states agreeing to call a constitutional convention to propose changes. Any change would then require ratification from three-quarters of the states.
Trump addressed his earlier comments on Sunday night when asked for clarification by reporters. The president said he’s “not looking at” staying in the White House past Jan. 20, 2029, when a new president would take office, but quickly launched into “rigged” 2020 election claims, adding that any talk of a third term would actually be a fourth term.
“I’m not looking at that but I’ll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election, was totally rigged, so it’s actually sort of a fourth term. I just don’t want the credit for the second because Biden was so bad, he did such a bad job, and I think that’s one of the reasons that I’m popular, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said.
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When pressed again on the unconstitutionality of a third term for him, Trump said he didn’t want to discuss it, while also indicating that many people have urged him to run again.
“I don’t even want to talk about it. I’m just telling you I have had more people saying, please run again. We have a long way to go before we even think about that but I’ve had a lot of people,” he said.
