Donald Trump has revealed that he is not ruling out a third term as President of the United States – despite the rules currently stating that nobody can serve more than twice.
President Trump, 78, first served as the 45th President of the United States between 2017 and 2021, before he was defeated in the following election by Joe Biden.
Undeterred, he ran again and secured his spot as the 47th POTUS against Kamala Harris, meaning he will serve as the head of state from 2025 until 2029.
The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”, meaning this should be the last time he is allowed to hold office.
Trump has, however, suggested that he is exploring every loophole possible to potentially serve even longer.
He told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday: “A lot of people want me to do it,” explaining that “there are methods which you could do it.”
One such loophole would be having Vice President JD Vance, 40, run for President with Trump as his Vice President, with him stepping up to the main role if Vance subsequently resigned from his post as President.
Trump added: “But there are others too,” but did not elaborate further on what these methods may be.
He told the outlet: “I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration. I’m focused on the current.”
Despite heading toward his 80s, Trump revealed he has no plans to slow down anytime soon, explaining: “I like working.”
He added: “I’m not joking. But I’m not — it is far too early to think about it.”
President Trump’s supporters have often voiced their approval for his leadership, chanting “four more years” at his public appearances.
Currently, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only American President who was elected to more than two terms, dying partway through his fourth term.
The Constitution was amended after Roosevelt’s presidency to make it a rule that each leader can only serve a maximum of two terms in office. Prior to Roosevelt’s four-term run, other presidents had followed George Washington’s example and stepped down after a maximum of two.
Trump is only the second president in US history to have served two non-consecutive terms and will be 82 years and seven months old when his current term comes to an end in 2029.
This will make him the oldest-ever commander in chief at the end of his current presidency, beating Joe Biden, who was 82 years and two months old when his time as POTUS came to an end.
If he were able to serve a third term, he would be close to 87 years old when it came to an end.
Biden’s presidency was mired with concerns for his health and cognitive fitness, with fellow Democrats forcing him to abandon his quest for reelection, leading to Harris taking over as the candidate before losing out to Trump, including in all seven swing states.
Trump’s quest to have a third term has potential to come to fruition as in January, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a constitutional amendment to allow Trump to be elected to a third term.
However, before that can happen, that legislation would need to be passed by two-thirds of the House and Senate and then be ratified by three-fourths of states, which could fail due to opposition from Democrats.
