More recently, former White House chief political strategist Steve Bannon raised the prospect of Trump seeking a third term, claiming there is a “plan” for him to circumvent the limits imposed by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.

The topic is red meat for Trump’s base, in part because his supporters view it as a way to needle the Left and the media. But it also has the benefit of keeping them “enthusiastic” with his “thoughts about staying around,” according to Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion.

“No Trump lame duck for the base,” Miringoff told the Washington Examiner.

Republican-turned-independent political analyst Dan Schnur agreed: “This certainly motivates Trump’s base, and it may be an argument that they’ll use to encourage turnout in the midterm elections.”

Trump has already begun to think about who might replace him in 2028, undermining the idea that he is serious about running again. Earlier this week, he named Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as an “unstoppable” pair, should they decide to form a ticket.

However, Trump, 79, is simultaneously sensitive to the perception that he is in control of the Republican Party, as he will inevitably face questions about his influence after the midterm elections, when presidents slowly enter into a lame duck period before leaving office. On Sunday, Trump framed himself as at the peak of political power while stating that he would “love to” run again in 2028.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” he said en route to Japan as part of his trip to Asia. “But I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had. I’ve just solved eight wars, and a ninth is coming.” 

Although he did keep the door open for 2028, he ruled out a more elaborate scenario in which Trump could be elected vice president so that his running mate could resign and elevate him to a third term as president.

“I wouldn’t because it’s too cute,” he said, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One. “I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute, it wouldn’t be right.”

Miringoff quipped that talk of a third term “probably doesn’t thrill” some Republican leaders, given that it could turn off independents or soft Democrats. But even if it were a possibility, he added, “It is likely to raise questions about his age with a majority of Americans.”

Trump is not the only president to have criticized the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, under which, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” The amendment was ratified in 1951 after Franklin Roosevelt died shortly after his inauguration for an unprecedented fourth term.

For example, Harry Truman described the 22nd Amendment as “bad,” “stupid,” and “one of the worst that has been put into the Constitution, except for the Prohibition Amendment.” Ronald Reagan called it “ridiculous” and contended the American public “ought to have a right to decide who their leadership would be.” Even Bill Clinton argued the amendment should be changed so that a president can serve more than two consecutive terms, citing longer life expectancies.

“Oh, I probably would have run again,” Clinton told Rolling Stone in 2000.

More than two decades later, MAGA allies on Capitol Hill, among them Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), are introducing legislation proposing a constitutional amendment to permit a president to serve a third term if their first two are non-consecutive. 

“This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs,” Ogles wrote in January, when he introduced the resolution two days into Trump’s second administration. “It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration.”

To amend the Constitution, such legislation would have to be supported by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate or by two-thirds of the country’s state legislatures at a national convention. It would then have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, either through those state legislatures or special ratification conventions. 

Bannon reignited the Trump 2028 storyline last weekend by reiterating that Trump is “gonna get a third term” and “there’s a plan.”

“I know this will drive you guys crazy, but he’s a vehicle of divine providence,” the former White House chief political strategist told the Economist. “He’s an instrument. He’s very imperfect. He’s not churchy, not particularly religious, but he’s an instrument of divine will.”

Democrats, meanwhile, claim that Trump is inviting a constitutional crisis with the actions of his second term, including his perceived prosecution of political enemies and fights with Congress over spending. But the party generally believes that the midterm elections will be won on the economy, as Republicans successfully predicted when they swept Democrats out of office in 2024.

“If that’s what he thinks is a winning platform to run on, he’s got some serious thinking to do,” a Democratic strategist, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, told the Washington Examiner when asked about Trump’s third-term musings. “He needs to focus on what’s happening right now. That’s definitely what we’re focused on.”

“From an operative’s standpoint, there are successors waiting in the wings,” the source said. “At what point does the Republican Party know that they need to fill that void for him?”

To that end, Trump on Air Force One did describe Vance and Rubio as “great,” questioning whether any other Republican would run against them for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination and calling them “unstoppable” as a pair.

“Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me,” he then said regarding a third term. “We have a great group of people, which they don’t.”

Democrats are also seemingly contemplating 2028, with Vice President Kamala Harris telling the BBC last weekend that she is not “done” with politics after last year’s election and that there will be a woman U.S. president one day, “possibly” her.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) similarly told CBS he would give “serious thought” to running for president in 2028 after next year’s midterm elections.

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Democratic strategist Jim Manley asserted that it is not surprising that so many Democrats are considering running for president since “the field is wide open, and no one has anything close to a dominant position.” 

“But as a native of Minnesota, I am always reminded of the fact that an influential former governor by the name of Harold Stassen ended up ruining his reputation by running for president three times,” Manley told the Washington Examiner. “You’ve got to have a reason to run — the fact that you have run before really doesn’t cut it.”