Former White House strategist Steve Bannon doubles down on proposition for a third term for Donald Trump

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has raised eyebrows with a wild proposition, doubling-down on an idea that has sent the US into a head-spin.

How does 12 years of Donald Trump as US President sound?

Former White House chief strategist and Trump’s long-time ally Steve Bannon has already raised eyebrows with the proposition the current President capitalise on a technical loophole in the constitution.

He sent the American left into a head spin with those comments in December and the doubled-down this week at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

The event was inundated with the who’s-who of US conservatism, including a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk, polarising commentator Ben Shapiro and the President himself.

Given the sweeping measures Trump has enacted in his first few weeks in the Oval Office, the excitement was through the roof. There were even comments that the Floridian real estate mogul was sent by God to save the nation.

When Bannon took the stage for a live edition of his War Room podcast, one attendee’s comment about “Trump 2028” set him off on a tangent.

“What do we have to do to get Trump 2028?” the 71-year-old asked the crowd.

Steve Bannon suggested Trump was sent by God and called to ‘rework the constitution’ to ensure he gets a third term. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / Getty Images via AFP)

When the man responded that the MAGA crowd had to continue to “show up and stay loud”, Bannon chimed in with a slightly more radical proposition.

“Exactly. We’ve got to maybe work the Constitution too although I think there’s a way to slip through there but you never know,” he said.

The man in the crowd said the Republicans should “keep repeating it over and over” to “desensitise them to it until they get used to it:

“I like that, that’s a psyop, you’re in a psyop right now,” Bannon replied.

Those comments will likely light a fire under Trump’s most ardent opposers, who have for eight years claimed he is a tyrant looking for more control over the country than the constitution allows.

Later in the event, Bannon declared “the future of America is MAGA” to loud cheers.

“The future of MAGA is Donald J. Trump. We want Trump in 2028,” he yelled.

“A man like Trump only comes along once or twice in a country’s history, right? We want Trump.”

He went on to criticise the American left, who he claimed were powerless to the new movement that has moved into the White House.

“You know why they can’t beat you and why they’re so upset? Your human agency. You did this yourselves, you came, you worked through it.

“You put aside fear and the anxiety of the 2020 election being stolen … it was your agency.”

Can Trump 2028 actually happen? (Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images via AFP)

Bannon lorded over Trump, even describing him as an “instrument of divine providence” as if he was sent by the almighty himself to save America.

“Human agency is what drives this world forward, this is the Holy Spirit working through us. That’s why Trump, General Washington and Lincoln come along every 100 years,” he continued.

“He is an instrument of divine providence. Of course he is.

“Look at what this Capital has become. The revolutionary generation never anticipated this imperial Capital. If they came back today, they would spit on the floor at what we’ve allowed to happen with the lords of easy money and the oligarchs.

“They would say ‘hey, what we need is a populist nationalist revolution’ and guess what, Donald Trump gave them one.”

Can Trump 2028 actually happen?

“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” the US constitution clearly states.

But the devil is in the details.

The document says no person can be elected as President for more than two terms, but it does not say that no person can serve as President for more than two terms.

When the President-elect met with congressional Republicans shortly after his November 2024 election victory, he said: “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out’.”

Trump has mastered the technique of saying outrageous things to attract attention on his way to achieving goals. If he repeats this talking point, it could very well be on the cards.

“While Trump claims he’s only joking when he floats the idea of a third term, he has a long history of using ‘jokes’ as a way of floating trial balloons,” governance expert Professor James Sherman said in December.

“Once he leaves office, Trump could once again face the prospect of criminal prosecution and possibly jail time, further motivating him to stay in power. As Trump’s second term progresses, don’t be surprised if Americans hear more about how he might try to stay in office.”