The question “Can Donald Trump Run for a Third Term?” is once again dominating search trends after the president made a new joke about extending his stay in the White House. Speaking to business leaders on Monday, Trump quipped about leaving office in “eight or nine years,” a timeline that would shatter the constitutional two-term limit.
‘‘Can Donald Trump Run for a Third Term?’ trend explained
The question is trending because the president keeps blurring the line between jest and genuine political ambition. Trump was addressing proposed tax legislation when he pivoted to his own tenure. “When I get out of office in, let’s say, eight or nine years from now, I’ll be able to use it. I’ll be able to use it myself,” he quipped. His current term ends in January 2029, whereas the remark suggests a presidency stretching into the 2030s.
This is not an isolated instance. Trump told NBC there were “methods which you could do it” when asked about a third term. Yet the president has also acknowledged the constitutional barrier, saying in another talk that “it’s pretty clear” he cannot run again. “I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad,” he said.
That belief rests on a specific reading of the 22nd Amendment, which states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.” Proponents of a third term argue that the text only prohibits being elected, not succeeding to the office through other means. Under this untested theory, Trump could run as a vice-presidential candidate in 2028, possibly with his current vice-president, JD Vance, at the top of the ticket. If that ticket won, the new president could resign, allowing Trump to assume the presidency without being elected to it.
Amending the Constitution itself offers no realistic path forward. Such a change would require two-thirds approval from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by ratification from three-quarters of state legislatures. Trump’s Republican Party controls both chambers of Congress but lacks the necessary supermajorities. Democrats hold 18 state legislatures, enough to block any amendment unilaterally.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory
