US President Donald Trump on Monday ruled out running for vice president in the 2028 election — but notably stopped short of ruling out a third term, fueling speculation about how he might try to extend his time in office.
Trump, 79, has repeatedly teased the idea of serving beyond the constitutionally limited two terms, joking at rallies and even selling “Trump 2028” hats. While most constitutional scholars have dismissed such talk as legally impossible, some of his allies have suggested exploring “creative” ways to make it happen.
Under the 22nd Amendment, no one can be elected president more than twice. Some Trump supporters have floated a loophole — that he could run as vice president and then assume office if the elected president resigned. But Trump appeared to reject that idea when speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One during his flight from Malaysia to Tokyo.
“I’d be allowed to do that,” Trump said. “But I wouldn’t. I think it’s too cute. The people wouldn’t like that. It wouldn’t be right.”
Still, Trump left the door open to a future run. Asked whether he was ruling out a third term, he replied, “I would love to do it. I have my best numbers ever,” adding when pressed, “Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me.”
Can Trump again run for President?
President Donald Trump has hinted several times that he’d like to extend his stay in the White House — even joking about serving beyond the traditional limit. But could he actually run again in 2028 and seek a third term?
The short answer: No. The Constitution bars anyone from being elected president more than twice.
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1951, clearly states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Kimberly Wehle, a constitutional law professor at the University of Baltimore and author of "How to Read the Constitution and Why," said the amendment leaves no room for ambiguity. “There was a concern about entrenching power in a kinglike manner,” she explained to New York Times.
Can Trump amend the 22nd Amendment?
Amending the Constitution would be an extraordinarily difficult task. A proposed amendment requires approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate — a far higher threshold than the narrow Republican majorities currently in place — or from two-thirds of state legislatures calling for a constitutional convention.
Even then, ratification demands support from three-fourths of all state legislatures or constitutional conventions.
Just three days after President Trump was sworn in for his second term, Representative Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, introduced a long-shot proposal to amend the Constitution and open a path for a potential third term.
His resolution stated: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms.”
Ogles argued that Trump needed more time to fulfill his agenda and undo the policies of the Biden administration, saying, “He 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.”
Has any president ever served more than two terms?
Yes — Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four consecutive terms, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. His presidency spanned the Great Depression and World War II, a period of immense national crisis that made his continued leadership broadly acceptable at the time.
There was no 22nd Amendment then, but Roosevelt’s unprecedented four-term tenure became the catalyst for introducing formal presidential term limits.
“Four terms, or 16 years, is the most dangerous threat to our freedom ever proposed,” warned Thomas E. Dewey, the New York governor who ran against Roosevelt in 1944 and later lost to Harry S. Truman in 1948.