Can a president run for a third term? What to know after Trump comments
Trump responds to questions about third term
President Donald Trump answered questions from reporters Sunday while aboard Air Force One. He discussed tariffs and was asked to clarify previous remarks on the idea of a third term in office. Trump said earlier Sunday that "I’m not joking" about trying to serve a third term. It's the clearest indication he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends in early 2029. "There are methods which you could do it," Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News. He also said "it is far too early to think about it." The 22nd Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row, says "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Sunday didn’t rule out the possibility of trying to serve a third term, which is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution, saying that there are "methods" in which to do it.
Trump, who would be 82 at the end of his second term, has previously mused about serving longer than two terms – but they were generally as jokes to friendly audiences.
On Sunday, he clarified in an interview: "I’m not joking."
Can a president run for a third term?
The backstory:
Trump on Sunday spoke with NBC News in a telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago, his private club. "A lot of people want me to do it," Trump said, referring to his allies. "But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration."
When asked whether he wanted another term, the president responded, "I like working," according to NBC News.
"I’m not joking," Trump said, when asked to clarify. "But I’m not — it is far too early to think about it."
When asked whether he had been presented with plans that would allow him to seek a third term, the president added: "There are methods which you could do it."
NBC's Kristen Welker asked Trump if one potential avenue to a third term was having Vice President JD Vance run for the top job and "then pass the baton to you."
"Well, that’s one," Trump responded. "But there are others too. There are others."
"Can you tell me another?" Welker asked.
"No," Trump replied.
He elaborated later to reporters on Air Force One from Florida to Washington that "I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election was totally rigged." Trump lost that election to Democrat Joe Biden.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press while returning to Washington, D.C. on Air Force One on March 30, 2025, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
What we know:
The 22nd Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row, states that "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."
It adds that "no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once."
To amend the U.S. Constitution, it must be passed by a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Either method then needs to be ratified by three-quarters of the state legislatures or conventions.
What we don't know:
Any attempt to remain in office would be legally suspect, and it’s unclear how seriously Trump might pursue the idea.
What they're saying:
Jeremy Paul, a constitutional law professor at Boston’s Northeastern University, told the Associated Press that "there are no credible legal arguments for him to run for a third term."
Derek Muller, a professor of election law at Notre Dame, noted that the 12th Amendment, which was ratified in 1804, says "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."
Muller said that indicates that if Trump is not eligible to run for president again because of the 22nd Amendment, he is not eligible to run for vice president, either.
"I don’t think there’s any ‘one weird trick’ to getting around presidential term limits," Muller said, suggesting that Trump is talking about a third term for political reasons to "show as much strength as possible."
Dig deeper:
Pursuing a third term would require extraordinary acquiescence by federal and state officials, not to mention the courts and voters themselves.
The other side:
"This is yet another escalation in his clear effort to take over the government and dismantle our democracy," said a statement from Rep. Daniel Goldman, a New York Democrat who served as lead counsel for Trump's first impeachment. "If Congressional Republicans believe in the Constitution, they will go on the record opposing Trump’s ambitions for a third term."
Trump’s popularity rating
By the numbers:
Trump on Sunday also suggested that Americans would go along with a third term because of his popularity. He falsely claimed to have "the highest poll numbers of any Republican for the last 100 years."
Gallup data shows President George W. Bush reaching a 90% approval rating after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. His father, President George H.W. Bush, hit 89% following the Gulf War in 1991.
Trump has maxed out at 47% in Gallup data during his second term, despite claiming to be "in the high 70s in many polls, in the real polls."
The Source: This story was reported using information published by NBC News based on its interview with President Donald Trump on March 30, 2025, and comments made to reporters on Air Force One. It also includes interviews conducted by the Associated Press, and information published in the U.S. Constitution. It was reported from Cincinnati, and the AP contributed.