Donald Trump has claimed there are “methods” to circumvent the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit for US presidents, though he said he had no concrete plans. In an interview aired on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Trump told host Kristen Welker that he was not joking when he alluded to a possible third term.
Welker raised a purported loophole in which Trump could run as vice-president to his current VP, JD Vance, in 2028, with Vance resigning after taking office to allow Trump to succeed him. Legal experts, however, have dismissed the idea. Derek Muller, an election law professor at Notre Dame, told the Associated Press that the 12th Amendment bars anyone ineligible for the presidency from serving as vice-president, meaning Trump could not run for VP if he is ineligible for a third term.
Trump said it was “far too early to think about” defying term limits, adding that he was “focused on the current”. When asked if he was joking, he replied: “No, no, I’m not joking.” Later, on Air Force One, he said: “I’m not looking at that but I’ll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term.”
Trump’s comments follow a February social media post in which he likened himself to a “king” after an executive order on congestion pricing in New York City. The White House shared a fake Time magazine cover of Trump wearing a crown. Meanwhile, Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has proposed a constitutional amendment to allow a third term for presidents who did not serve two consecutive terms, a move that would only benefit Trump but has little chance of passing.
