Donald Trump ran for and won the presidency in 2016, after flirting with a presidential run in multiple previous election cycles.
After losing in 2020, he ran again and won, becoming the first man since Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century to serve non-consecutive presidential terms.
President Donald Trump boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on Thursday, September 11, 2025, for a trip to New York. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
Donald Trump Meeting With French President White House Flickr Photo
He’s even talked about trying to run for an illegal third term, although Trump appears to have given up on that idea of late.
So, indications suggest Trump really likes being president and seems unlikely to give up power voluntarily.
But this week, after the Republicans suffered an electoral wipeout in the midterm elections, one pundit suggested that Trump could react by resigning as president.
The Independent reported this week that election forecaster Nate Silver, who had accurately predicted the Democratic sweep, had said on a podcast that Trump could walk away from the presidency.
An Early Exit?
Silver’s comments, on the Still Counting podcast, came after Vice President JD Vance issued a post-election statement blaming the loss on the Iran War.
Silver predicted that this could lead to the president and vice president becoming rivals, which happened often during the early years of the United States, but less so more recently.
“That’s part of why I had just the weird intuition that maybe Trump will find some pretense to quit,” Silver said. “Because he could get very, very isolated.”
The Independent noted that there is “no indication” that Trump is seriously considering a presidential resignation.
Richard Nixon, in 1974, is the only U.S. president who has resigned the presidency.
The comment was sort of off-brand for Silver, a forecaster with a long history of not relying on “weird intuition,” but rather making forecasts based on the numbers in front of him.
A website called Jurist.com, which is published by law school students, published an op-ed this week, arguing that “Facing a Democratic Congress, Trump Should Consider Resigning,”
“If he decides to resign, his resignation will bring concrete benefits to democracy at home, to international peace and security, and to the global economy, which is under extreme hardship after the on-and-off closure of the Hormuz Strait following the war with Iran,” the op-ed, by a Washington University law student, argues.
President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks on the economy at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York on Friday, May 22, 2026.(Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
Reasons Why Trump Wouldn’t Quit
But there are many other reasons to be skeptical that Trump would ever leave office voluntarily.
Presidents suffer midterm election wipeouts fairly frequently and have faced the prospect of a dead-on-arrival legislative agenda, as well as new investigations by Congressional committees.
But none of those presidents have resigned.
There are also reasons specific to Trump. Throughout his time as a public figure, Trump has long insisted on winning, having the last word, and maintaining a powerful position when others don’t want him to.
That was his motivation in running again, and it would likely motivate him to remain in office for the last two years of his term.
Also, if he and Vance are at odds, he would be less likely to surrender the presidency to his vice president.
And of course, an early departure from the White House would prevent Trump from seeing through projects important to him, such as the White House ballroom project and the Reflecting Pool beautification project.
President Donald J. Trump speaks to the press during a presentation of the Religious Liberty Commission Report in the Oval Office, Friday, June 26, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
The day after the election blowout, Trump took reporters on a tour of the ballroom site, telling them to “watch the beam go up” when a beam was installed at the construction site.
A Lame Duck
Trump is, however, about to enter uncharted territory: He’s now a lame duck.
His presidency has an expiration date in sight; there are no more elections for him, and he has little reason to hold rallies anymore.
In just a few months, the 2028 presidential race will begin, politicians will start announcing their candidacies, and the attention will shift to a version of politics that Donald Trump is not a part of.
And when Republican candidates are interviewed or hold debates, the question of Trump’s legacy will always be top of mind, in a way that’s not likely to make the president feel great.
But none of that is likely to encourage Trump to give up the presidency early.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
