A Democracy Drive Thread
The 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two terms. A running record of the times he has floated a third anyway — and the efforts to make one possible.
The 22nd Amendment is unambiguous: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Ratified in 1951, it caps any president at two terms. This thread is a chronological record, with sources, of the many times President Trump has nonetheless floated a third term — in interviews, to troops and crowds, and through merchandise — alongside the efforts by allies to make one possible, from a proposed constitutional amendment to Steve Bannon’s claimed “plan.” He has at times acknowledged the amendment bars it, only to return to the idea; the entries are presented in order so the pattern speaks for itself.
January 23, 2025
Three days into the new term, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced House Joint Resolution 29, proposing to amend the Constitution so a president could be elected up to three times — drafted so that it would apply to Trump. Amending the Constitution requires two-thirds of both chambers and ratification by three-fourths of the states, making the measure a long shot, but it set down a marker.
February 20, 2025
In his own words
He added, “There’s your controversy right there.” The 22nd Amendment bars anyone from being elected president more than twice.
“Should I run again? You tell me.”
March 30, 2025
In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump said “a lot of people” wanted him to run again and that there were “methods” by which he could pursue a third term. Pressed on whether he was serious, he said, “I’m not joking.”
“I’m not joking. … There are methods which you could do it.”
April 24, 2025
Days after the NBC interview, the Trump Organization began selling a “Trump 2028” hat for $50 on its official store — “Rewrite the rules,” the listing read — with Eric Trump modeling it on social media. The campaign-style merchandise turned the third-term idea into a marketed product.
May 15, 2025
In his own words
He lost the 2020 election. Officials said the remarks politicized an audience of service members expected to stay apolitical.
“As you know, we won three elections, okay? … Some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know — I’ll have to think about that.”
August 18, 2025
In his own words
The remark, made in the Oval Office with European leaders present, drew laughter. It came amid Trump’s repeated talk of a third term.
““So, let me just say, three and a half years from now — so you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections.””
September 29, 2025
On the ground
Hakeem Jeffries said the hats “just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting.” When he asked Vance if he had a problem with it, Vance said “no comment.”
October 27, 2025
Asked by reporters aboard Air Force One about running again in 2028, Trump said, “I would love to do it,” citing his polling. The remark came as he traveled in Asia and amid renewed public discussion of how the two-term limit might be circumvented.
“I would love to do it. I have my best numbers ever.”
In an interview with The Economist published the same week, Steve Bannon insisted Trump “is going to get a third term,” saying there were “many different alternatives” to a constitutional amendment and that a plan would be revealed “at the appropriate time.” Among the floated workarounds: Trump running for vice president, then ascending after the top of the ticket stepped aside.
“There’s a plan, and President Trump will be the president in ’28.”
January 14, 2026
In his own words
In a January 2026 Oval Office interview, Trump said: “It’s some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don’t win the midterms,” before adding that “when you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election.”
“When you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election.”
February 27, 2026
At an event at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, Trump mused, “Maybe we do one more term. Should we do one more?” and added, “Well, we are entitled to it.” In his State of the Union the same week he revived the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, saying it “should be my third term.”
“Maybe we do one more term. … Well, we are entitled to it.”
June 23, 2026
At a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania — a midterm-season stop in the Lehigh Valley — Trump again drifted into third-term talk, telling the crowd, “Maybe we should run again. Should we run one more time? I’d like to do that.” As before, such a run would violate the Constitution’s two-term limit.
“Should we run one more time? I’d like to do that.”