Trump’s 2028 merch teases 3rd term dream. Does the Constitution allow it?

The merchandise rollout follows Trump’s own remarks about a potential third term. “A lot of people want me to do it,” he told NBC News. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”

Trump, who returned to office in January this year, served his first term from 2017 to 2021. He has claimed there could be a way to remain in power beyond the two-term limit. “There are things you could do,” he said, floating the idea of Vice President JD Vance running for president and then handing over the office to him. “There are other ways, too,” he added, without elaborating.

Trump also said, “That would be a good one, I’d like that,” when asked about running against former President Barack Obama, who, like Trump, has already served two terms.

What does the constitution say?

The US Constitution’s 22nd Amendment explicitly states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” making any third-term bid legally impossible under current law.

The most obvious way for Trump to be able to run again involves amending the Constitution.

A constitutional amendment may be proposed by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Republicans currently hold 53 of 100 seats in the Senate, and 218 of 435 seats in the House — well short of the 67 and 290 votes needed for passing a constitutional amendment in the Senate and the House, respectively.

An amendment can also be proposed by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures, although this route has never been taken for the 27 amendments passed till date and is politically even more unlikely.

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