President Trump is refusing to rule out serving a third term in the White House even though he’s constitutionally barred from doing so.
Trump insisted that “I’m not joking” about staying in power after his current term ends in January 2029 even though the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution appears to prevent him from becoming the only president aside from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to serve more than two four-year terms.
“There are methods which you could do it,” Trump told NBC News on Sunday.
He elaborated later to reporters later Sunday that “I have had more people ask me to have a third term.”
Trump used the third-term debate to reiterate his assertion that he really beat former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, a false claim that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by thousands of his extremist supporters.
“In a way (it would be) a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election was totally rigged,” Trump added.
The 22nd Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row.
It says: “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Repealing the 22nd Amendment would require the approval of 75% of state legislatures, a practically insurmountable obstacle with nearly half the states controlled by Democrats who strongly oppose Trump.
Pro-Trump lawmakers suggested they wouldn’t support such a move although many stopped short of categorically ruling out backing a third term for the unquestioned leader of the Republican Party.
“I don’t see an end around to the Constitution,” Sen. Ryan Zinke (R-Montana) said Monday.
Democrats cried foul, noting that many Republicans would have opposed many of Trump’s more outlandish proposals until they become a reality.
“This is yet another escalation in his clear effort to take over the government and dismantle our democracy,” said Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-New York).
The open discussion of a third term marks something of a shift for Trump and his supporters, who had previously scoffed at the debate as evidence of liberals’ obsession with Trump.
“We want Trump in ’28,” Steve Bannon recently said.
Some Trump supporters point out that the 22nd Amendment refers to being “elected,” not serving as president. They say that appears to open the door to Trump serving a third term without being elected as president in 2028, although most legal analysts reject that argument.
One scenario floated by MAGA loyalists calls for Trump to run for vice president in 2028 on a ticket led by JD Vance or someone else. If they won, the elected president could resign, clearing the way for Trump to return to power.
However, legal analysts note that another amendment bars anyone from serving as vice president if they are ineligible to serve as president, which would appear to raise an insurmountable legal obstacle to the Trump switcheroo plan.
