President Donald Trump dismissed the idea of him running for a third term in 2028 during a conversation with reporters. “The law is very strong,” Trump stated at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, addressing the frequent inquiry.
Trump mentioned that the question of a third term comes up often. He referenced the enthusiastic calls for a 2028 run from attendees at the Patriot Games event he attended earlier that day, noting that while many want him to run again, the legal restrictions are clear.
Section 1 of the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits anyone from being elected president more than twice. This amendment was ratified in 1951, following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms as president. Before Roosevelt, two terms were an accepted norm, adhering to George Washington’s example.
Throughout his second term, Trump has jokingly alluded to the idea of a third term. At a recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner, he made light of the possibility, wearing a “Trump 2028” hat and jesting about a third presidency while assuring it was a joke.
Yet, in a March 2025 interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump suggested potential scenarios that might enable him to circumvent the 22nd Amendment. One such scenario involved Vice President JD Vance running for president, with Trump as his vice president. If Vance won and resigned, Trump could theoretically assume the presidency.
Most constitutional scholars argue against this possibility. Deborah Pearlstein, a law professor at Princeton University, asserts that the 12th Amendment prevents a former president from becoming vice president, thus closing this loophole.
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