President Donald Trump seemed to put a pin in the idea of him serving a third term, telling NBC’s Kristen Welker he will “be a two-term president.”
“I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward,” the president said on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” “But I think we’re going to have four years, and I think four years is plenty of time to do something really spectacular.”
These comments were his firmest to date indicating he won’t attempt to remain in office. For months, Trump has made comments about a third term, which were laughed off as jokes by many Republicans but cheered on by others. Trump’s website posted “Trump 2028” merchandise last week.
He said on “Meet the Press” that “so many people want” him to run for a third term.
“I have never had requests so strong as that,” he said. “But it’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do. I don’t know if that’s Constitutional that they’re not allowing you to do it or anything else.”
In a March interview with NBC News, Trump said that while he was focused on the current administration he was “not joking” about the idea of serving a third term.
Trump’s flirtation with a third term hasn’t been taken very seriously by most Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“I don’t think there’s any world in which that happens,” Sen. Ted Cruz told NOTUS in February.
After Trump’s organization posted “Trump 2028” merchandise, lawmakers told NOTUS it was “just trolling” and not a cause for concern.
But others have embraced the idea of Trump serving another term – namely Rep. Andy Ogles who introduced a resolution to alter the 22nd Amendment such that a president who has served two terms non-consecutively is eligible for a third term.
“I think it’s more about, what does the electorate want?” Ogles told NOTUS in a February interview. “We’ve been letting [the resolution] simmer and letting the grassroots do its job.”
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Violet Jira is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.