In the past, Donald Trump has made remarks that suggest he is considering pursuing a third term as president.
If Trump were to run for the presidency again, he would be the first to do so since Franklin Roosevelt.
Currently, the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president.
According to the National Constitution Center, the 22nd Amendment states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”
On several occasions, Trump has hinted at his desire to run for office again.
TIME notes that he first alluded to this idea in 2022, during his campaign for reelection before being defeated by Joe Biden.
“We’re going to win Nevada and we’re going to win four more years in the White House,” Trump teased at the time.
“And then after that we’ll negotiate. Right? Because we’re probably—based on the way we were treated—we’re probably entitled to another four after that.”
In a statement to House Republicans last November, following the election, he was quoted by MSNBC as saying: “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say he’s so good we have got to figure something else out.”
More recently, Trump has mentioned the significant amount of funds he has raised, suggesting this entitles him to consider running again.
Addressing House Republicans in Florida last month, the 78-year-old stated: “I’ve raised a lot of money for the next race, that I assume I can’t use for myself, but I’m not 100% sure because… I don’t know, I think I’m not allowed to run again. I’m not sure. Am I allowed to run again, Mike [Johnson]?”
Though running for more than two terms is currently prohibited, US Representative Andy Ogles recently proposed a significant change to the 22nd Amendment that would allow Trump another four-year term following his current one.
Ogles proposed altering the amendment to read: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
If this proposal were to be accepted, it would permit Trump to run again, but not past presidents like Barack Obama who served two consecutive terms.
Politico reports that the likelihood of this proposal passing is extremely low, as it needs two-thirds approval from both Congressional chambers or two-thirds of the states to call for a constitutional amendment, followed by ratification from three-fourths of the states. The current political climate in the US is too polarized for such an occurrence.
Additionally, Politico highlights a potential loophole in the 22nd Amendment due to its wording.
The amendment specifies that a person cannot be elected to a third term, but it does not explicitly prevent someone from serving a third term.
This wording allows for the possibility that Trump could maneuver around it to become president again, such as running as vice president with a candidate willing to step down immediately, thus placing him back in the White House after 2028.
John Fortier, a senior research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has pointed out that laws are in place to prevent exploitation of this legal loophole.
He explained to Sky News that a president or anyone in the presidential line of succession must meet the qualifications to become president.
Given that Trump has already served two terms, he would not be eligible.