President Donald Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he’s “not joking” about a potential third term, but added that it’s “far too early to think about” another run.
Trump, who became only the second U.S. president to win two non-consecutive terms, would need the Constitution to be altered for him to be sworn in for a third time. The 22nd Amendment — passed by Congress in 1947 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms — prohibits presidents from being elected more than twice. However, the 78-year-old president told NBC News that “there are methods” that would allow him to effectively be re-elected in 2028.
When asked, Trump acknowledged that one of those methods would be backing Vice President JD Vance in 2028 so that Vance could hand Trump the reins. “That’s one method,” Trump said, adding, “There are others too.” The president declined to explain what the other methods could be, according to NBC News, but touted his poll numbers, adding that “a lot of people would like me to” run for a third term.
Trump was later asked by reporters about his comments on a third term and quipped that running for re-election again would be “sort of a fourth term.”
“I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the 2020 election was totally rigged, so it’s actually sort of a fourth term in a certain. I just don’t want the credit for the 2nd because Biden was so bad. He did such a bad job, and I think that’s one of the reasons that I’m popular,” Trump said.
“I think I’m popular because we’ve done a great job,” he added. “We’ve had the best almost 100 days of any president.”
Despite remaining slightly underwater, Trump’s current job approval numbers are higher than they were at any time during his first term, according to the RealClearPolitics average. As of Monday morning, Trump holds a 47.9% approval rating. His highest approval rating in the RCP average during his first term was 47.2%.
One of those pushing for a third Trump term is Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). Just days after Trump took office in January, Ogles introduced a joint House Resolution pushing for a Constitutional amendment to “revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms.”
“It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration,” Ogles said. “President Trump has shown time and time again that his loyalty lies with the American people and our great nation above all else. He is dedicated to restoring the republic and saving our country, and we, as legislators and as states, must do everything in our power to support him.”
