‘I’m not joking’: More clues Donald Trump is preparing for ‘Constitution-shattering’ third term
US President Donald Trump claims he’s one of the most popular Republicans of all time. But one person could ruin everything for him.
Trump versus Obama in 2028?
It’s not as absurd as it may seem.
US President Donald Trump is done beating about the bush.
He’s declared that he’s serious about securing a Constitution-breaking third term.
“No, I’m not joking. I’m not joking,” he told NBC News on Sunday.
“But … it is far too early to think about it.”
The confirmation brought an immediate backlash.
Mr Trump was later challenged with the notion of contesting the 2028 Presidential election against former (consecutive-term) President Barack Obama.
He declared: “I’d love that. Boy, I’d love that”.
It’s an idea that has since gained traction.
Memes, jokes, insults – and occasionally meaningful political discourse – splashed through social media.
By the middle of the week, #Obama 2028 was trending strong.
Mr Obama is yet to comment on the hypothetical contest.
But the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution is quite clear: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”.
Mr Trump thinks differently.
He told NBC: “Well, there are plans … There are — not plans. There are, there are methods which you could do it, as you know”.
When asked if this could involve Vice President JD Vance running for the Presidency and then handing over the reigns once in office, Mr Trump replied: “Well, that’s one. But there are others too. There are others”.
His White House legal team is attempting to argue that the wording of the Constitution only applies to consecutive terms. Not total terms served.
That interpretation would sideline Mr Obama.
Meanwhile, a Republican member of the House of Representatives has put forward legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment – and replace it with one that lets Mr Trump back in, but not Mr Obama.
Popular vote
“You have to start by saying, I have the highest poll numbers of any Republican for the last 100 years,” Mr Trump said.
“We’re in the high 70s in many polls, in the real polls, and you see that. And, and you know, we’re very popular. And you know, a lot of people would like me to do that. But, I mean, I basically tell them, we have a long way to go, you know … I’m focused on the current”.
The most popular of the 47 US Presidents, according to YouGov, is the 16th – Abraham Lincoln.
Barack Obama, the 44th, is in seventh place.
Following his first term, Donald Trump was ranked 20th.
Now, the constitutional obstacle to his third term is the Republican response to another immensely popular president.
The 22nd Amendment was adopted in 1951 after intense Republican lobbying.
They were incensed that President Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat) had won the popular vote four times. He (the sixth-most popular President ever) was the only person to serve more than two terms.
Republicans now want to change it back.
Representative Andy Ogles (Republican, Tennessee) in February proposed a bill to amend the Constitution to allow three terms.
But it has been tailored to block any potential popularity showdown with Mr Obama by disqualifying those who have already served two consecutive stints as President.
Changing the US Constitution is no easy task.
It requires a two-thirds majority across both the US House of Representatives and Senate. It must also be approved by three-fourths of all state governments.
But the Republicans have achieved this before.
Why not again?
“Americans overwhelmingly approve and support President Trump and his America First policies. As the President said, it’s far too early to think about it and he is focused on undoing all the hurt Biden has caused and Making America Great Again,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Repealing the 22nd
“We’re working on it,” former Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon told NewsNation later in the week.
“I think we’ll have, I think we’ll have a couple of alternatives. Let’s say that. We’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see what the definition of term limit is.”
The 22nd Amendment addresses someone who is directly elected as President. It also states any Vice President who replaces a sitting President can only run for one additional term.
It does not address the prospect of a Vice President who was a former two-term President returning to office.
But the 12th Amendment does – indirectly.
It states that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice president”.
Most constitutional lawyers interpret that as barring Mr Trump from running as Vice President.
But it wouldn’t preclude him from taking up the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives under a Republican-dominated Congress.
That position is next in line, behind the Vice President, for the Presidency … and isn’t subject to the 12th.
It just requires the two officials above to resign, die or otherwise be rendered unsuitable for office.
“This whole story about running for a third term, I don’t know,” Mr Trump told Fox News this week.
“They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that … I want to do a fantastic job. We have four years …”
Republican Richard Nixon’s Presidential White House legal counsel, John Dean, argues President Trump needs a third term to turn the Project 2025 agenda of his supporters and backers into reality.
“People who have known him intimately for decades tell me he really wants to be remembered as a great president — Mount Rushmore-worthy,” Mr Dean writes.
“When he made his latest statement about a third term, he knew he had fewer than 1400 days of his presidency remaining. He must be dreaming of what four more years — a third term – would enable him to accomplish.”
Mr Dean was disbarred as an lawyer for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal that brought down the 37th Presidency.
“I will assume that he is not talking about conspicuously illegal methods nor particularly rational means to get a third term — like another coup — but rather operating according to the law but not necessarily good sense. This means a possibly legal, albeit Constitution-shattering approach,” Mr Dean argues.
“Many are deeply concerned that a Supreme Court that has largely immunised the president from criminal proceedings would give him a third term should the public elect him. Hopefully, the high court will not create an elected king.”
Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @jamieseidel.bsky.social
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