President Trump said he doesn’t want to discuss his plans for 2028 but said “so many people” are asking him to run for a third term — a move prohibited by the Constitution.
Trump was asked about his comments from an earlier Sunday interview in which he said he was “not joking” about running for a third term and said there were some potential methods that could allow him to seek another 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,” Trump said, when asked whether his comments earlier meant he’s “not planning to leave office on January 20.”
Trump repeatedly touted what he described as the success of his administration, saying that’s the reason people want him to stay in office.
When a reporter noted the constitution limits the president to two terms in office, Trump interrupted, saying, “I don’t even want to talk about it.”
“I’m just telling you I have had more people saying, ‘please run again,’” Trump said. “We have a long way to go before we even think about that, but I’ve had a lot of people.”
Trump dug his heels in, when a reporter asked whether it’s “an appropriate precedent to set, even if it’s not you in that position.”
“I don’t even want to talk about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, you’ve got a long time to go,” Trump said in response.
“We have a long time. We have almost four years to go and that’s a long time but despite that so many people are saying you’ve got to run again. They love the job we’re doing. Most importantly, they love the job we’re doing,” he added.
Trump expressed a similar sentiment, in an interview with NBC News on Sunday morning, saying many people want him to run but that “I’m focused on the current” administration. He said, however, that he was “not joking” when he mentioned the possibility of a third term.
Trump has floated the idea of running for a third term several times since he was elected, including recently at a St. Patrick’s Day event, when he told the Irish prime minister that he looks forwarded to celebrating together “at least” three more times.
“When I say, ‘at least,’ they go absolutely crazy,” Trump said at the time, referring to the press, which elicited laughs in the room. “So thank you very much for being here.”
Last month, Trump asked a crowd at the White House, “Should I run again? You tell me.” And after his election victory in November, he floated the idea during a gathering with House Republicans.
The idea has gained steam in some circles, despite it being unconstitutional. The 22nd Amendment limits individuals to two presidential terms.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) in January proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would allow Trump to vie for another term in the White House.
In a statement at the time, Ogles said Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal.”
