Donald Trump on Monday once again publicly pondered the possibility of running for president for a third term.
Trump asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) if he’d be “allowed to” during an address at the Congressional Institute’s retreat for House Republicans at the president’s Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida.
“I’ve raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I can’t use for myself, but I’m not 100% sure because…,” said Trump, drawing laughs from the audience.
“I don’t know, I think I’m not allowed to run again,” he continued.
Trump then turned to Johnson and asked, “Am I allowed to run again, Mike? I better not get you involved in that argument.”
The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution prohibits presidents from serving more than two terms, whether they have been served consecutively or separately.
But Trump has teased somehow getting around it on multiple occasions.
In Las Vegas this weekend, Trump joked: “It will be the greatest honor of my life to serve not once, but twice or three times or four times.”
After his November 2024 election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris, Trump told GOP lawmakers: “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something.”
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) last week introduced a long-shot amendment to the Constitution ― which would need the ratification of three-fourths of the states ― that would let Trump run for the White House again.
Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal,” Ogles fawned over Trump in a statement, adding: “President Trump has shown time and time again that his loyalty lies with the American people and our great nation above all else.”
Ogles put a twist on his plan, though, by proposing that presidents who’ve already served two consecutive terms wouldn’t be eligible.
That would bar all living presidents ― George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama ― from running for a third term.
Former President Joe Biden would be able to, though.
While Republicans have downplayed Trump’s third-term comments as a joke, critics warn they may appear to be that until they are actually not.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) in November said Trump’s jokes are “not jokes” but “trial balloons.” “They are very intentionally designed to soften the response and then to normalize his unconstitutional and anti-democratic goals,” he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.
“Late Night” comedian Seth Meyers in December said Republicans are “always trolling until they’re not,” explaining that: “ Republicans are like guys who jokingly propose a three-way with their wife and her best friend. ‘I mean, that’d be so crazy, right? I mean, unless you’re into it…’”
Many critics of Trump’s latest riff suggested there was only one triggering answer, if Ogles’ amendment gets shot down of course, and that involved Obama. One called Trump’s comments “looneytunes.”
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