Key Points – Despite the 22nd Amendment clearly prohibiting a third presidential term, President Donald Trump continues to suggest the possibility, telling US troops in Qatar on May 15th that “some people want us to do a fourth” and promoting “Trump 2028” merchandise.
-While potentially a troll or sales tactic, analysts like Richard Primus argue this reflects Trump’s view of the Constitution as an “obstacle to be overcome” when it conflicts with his interests.
-This persistent third-term rhetoric, though constitutionally unviable without an unlikely amendment, risks complicating the 2028 Republican primary by overshadowing other potential candidates.
Trump Teases A Run for 3rd Term?
Donald Trump is not eligible for a third term as president. As a constitutional question, this is not even a close call.
His only hope would be to somehow pass a constitutional amendment to repeal the 22nd Amendment, but that’s highly unlikely to happen in the next three and a half years.
Therefore, in 2028, a president who isn’t Trump will be elected, and in 2029, a non-Trump president will be sworn into office.
However, Trump has frequently talked about going for a third term, as if it were possible.
Trump did it again on Thursday, while speaking to the U.S. troops in Qatar, as reported by The Daily Mail.
‘We won three elections, OK? And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it,” Trump said at the base, lying about having “won” the 2020 election.
After that, Trump seemed to admit that he was trolling, or possibly trying to move merchandise.
“The hottest hat is, it says “Trump 2028′. We’re driving the left crazy when you see that,” Trump said at the base. Per the Mail, the item in Trump’s merchandise store carries the description “’The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the Trump 2028 high crown hat.” The 2028 hat retails for $50 in the Trump store.
Could It Backfire?
Trump is clearly having fun with the 2028 speculation. But there’s a chance that it could come back to bite him.
It’s already a problem for both Trump World and the Republican Party that their base is attached to Trump, and is going to have to pivot to another candidate in 2028, once Trump is done being president.
But what happens if Trump, once the 2028 Republican primaries roll around, is still talking about wanting to run? How will J.D. Vance or any other non-Trump candidate raise money or gain voter enthusiasm? Will Trump fans show up to J.D. Vance rallies wearing their “Trump 2028” hats?
As noted in the Mail piece, some Trump fans have suggested a scenario where Vance runs for president with Trump as his running mate, at which point Vance would resign. This is both impractical and unfeasible, for a variety of reasons.
Steve Bannon, in various speeches, has also encouraged Trump to go for the third term that he can’t legally go for.
“An Obstacle to Be Surmounted”
Meanwhile, this week, Richard Primus wrote for The Atlantic about exactly what Trump might be up to with the third-term talk.
“In March, he said that he is ‘not joking” when he refers to a possible third term,” Primus writes. “More recently, he said that a third term is “something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do,” but then immediately questioned the constitutionality of being prevented from running again. When pressed about how he would serve a third term despite the Constitution’s rule against being elected more than twice, he said, “There are ways of doing it.'”
What’s important is that Trump knows that he’s forbidden from running for a third term, but immediately goes looking for a way to get around that constitutional prohibition.
“For the president, the Constitution is not a repository of values that he must respect,” Primus writes. “When it stands in the way of his interests, it is an obstacle to be overcome.”
“President Trump’s attitude toward the Twenty-Second Amendment is a classic case of Holmes’s bad-man perspective. Indeed, the bad-man construct captures Trump’s attitude toward law in general,” Primus writes. “Rather than regarding law as the repository of values that officials should try to realize, the president regards it as a set of obstacles to be worked around as he pursues his interests.”
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, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
Bigger Problems for Trump
