By TRT World,
The US President’s remarks came a day after he said that he is “not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication that he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would “love” to run against former President Barack Obama in 2028 for a third term, which is prohibited by the Constitution.
“I’d love that. That would be a good one. I’d like that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about a hypothetical election matchup.
“No people are asking me to run, and there’s a whole story about running for a third term. I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it. I want to do a fantastic job. We have four years…It’s still close to four years,” he added.
What the constitution says
Trump’s remarks came a day after he said that he is “not joking” about trying to serve a third term, the clearest indication that he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier preventing him from continuing to lead the country after his second term ends in early 2029.
“There are methods you could use to do it,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News. He also stated, “It is far too early to think about it.”
The 22nd Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row, states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” whether the terms are consecutive or not.
There are others too’
Trump is currently serving his second term, leaving some of his allies to suggest that a path to a third stint in office could be secured via succession rather than an election.
NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Trump if one potential avenue to a third term was having Vice President JD Vance run for the top job and “then pass the baton to you.”
“Well, that’s one,” Trump responded. “But there are others too. There are others.”
Seeking to amend the Constitution to remove the 22nd Amendment’s prohibition would be nearly impossible, given the two-thirds majority required in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states.
