AI has shared a look at what could happen if Barack Obama and Donald Trump both ran for president in 2028.
The YouTube channel I Ask AI recently posted a video diving into a what-if election scenario: the rules change, a third presidential term becomes possible, and Trump is able to run again.
Under the current Constitution, he isn’t allowed to seek a third term due to the 22nd Amendment. Still, the creator wanted to explore the alternate reality anyway, asking viewers to temporarily set real-world legal limits aside so the hypothetical could play out.
“So for the next 15 minutes, forget all about the 22nd Amendment. Just put it aside or somewhere,” he said.
From there, the video considers Trump launching another campaign and quickly narrows in on the most talked-about potential rival in such a scenario.
“And once you open that door, there’s really only one name that people bring up. Yes, this man. Every time Trump talks about a third term, Barack Obama’s name comes up instantly,” the YouTube host added.
The host then asks the AI to map out what both campaigns might look like—what each candidate would sell to voters, how the mood of the country might shift, and who would be most likely to come out on top.
According to the AI, Obama’s messaging would largely position him as a corrective force, with a platform built around reversal and repair—aimed at ‘undoing, correcting, or stabilizing what he would describe as damage from an extended Trump era.’
It also added: “He would present himself as the counterweight, steady where Trump is confrontational, institutional where Trump is disruptive, making the race a direct referendum on two very different governing styles.”
The AI further suggested that, in this imagined climate, the country would be worn down by ongoing turmoil—pointing to conflict and fatigue driven by scandals, protests, and constant political tension—meaning the usual advantages of an incumbent-style re-election environment wouldn’t apply.
That, the video argued, would likely tilt the outcome decisively. “In that environment, I wouldn’t see this as razor thin. I’d lean toward a fairly confident Obama win,” the video concluded.
Similar speculative prompts have been circulating on X (formerly Twitter), where users have asked the platform’s AI bot, Grok, to weigh in on different election matchups and alternate outcomes.
In reality, Trump’s current presidency is set to end in January 2029, and he is not eligible to be elected again—even though he has hinted at the idea of seeking a third term.
The 22nd Amendment states, as per the National Constitution Center: “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.”