On Wednesday, President Donald Trump ruled out his chances to run for a third term in 2028. He admitted that the Constitution forbade him to do so.
“It’s a very interesting thing. I have the best numbers for any president in many years, any president,” he said. “And I would say that if you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad, obviously.”
In fact, Trump had been selling 2028 merch and handing it out to White House visitors. On Monday, he didn’t entirely rule out running again despite the 22nd Amendment’s wording. “I haven’t really thought about it. I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had,” he told reporters. “Am I not ruling it out? I mean, you’ll have to tell me.”
Trump on running for a third term: “If you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad.” pic.twitter.com/DLLfAUppio
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) October 29, 2025
Trump, who is known to play with words, has kept it subtle and yet has put across his intentions. However, his key supporters have been more explicit regarding this. Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump insider and architect of his 2016 win, insisted last week that Trump has another term in the bag. Many White House insiders have echoed the same.
“He’s gonna get a third term,” Bannon told The Economist. “Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people just ought to get accommodated with that.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) called a third term “unlikely” but was also open to it. “You know, if you read the Constitution, it says it’s not, but if he says he has some, some different circumstances that might be able to go around the Constitution, but that’s up to him,” Tuberville said, according to The Hill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson batted down the possibility of President Donald Trump seeking a third term for the White House, noting the constitutional restrictions in place on presidential term limits.
While the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars someone from being… pic.twitter.com/NDTDM4DB0E
— PBS News (@NewsHour) October 28, 2025
But imagine it’s 2029 and we hear someone take an oath, “I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear…” It sounds like a MAGA dream and a Liberal nightmare.
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” the 22nd Amendment mandates. However, Trump and his allies have suggested that they plan to bend the law.
An associate White House counsel for President Barack Obama, Ian Bassin, had said, “Anyone who says that obviously the 22nd Amendment will deter Trump from trying for a third term has been living on a different planet than the one I’ve been living on.”
Hence, if Trump wants to bag another Presidential year, here are four ways he can give it a shot.
- The first could be as simple as generating a movement to repeal the 22nd Amendment directly.
- Trump can gather some senators to find a little-noticed loophole in the amendment and exploit it. This might allow him to run for Vice President and then immediately ascend back to his presidential throne.
- He could just run for president again on the bet that a pliant Supreme Court won’t stop him.
- The last could be him, putting a formal end to America’s democratic regime and simply refusing to leave.
If President Trump tries to take any of these paths, they would obviously face serious legal, political, and practical impediments. It won’t be surprising if the 79-year-old President has thought through this already. Maybe the supposed consequences made him back out.
