Donald Trump’s suggestion that there are “methods” by which he could run for a third term as US president has been met with scorn – but also warnings that he could seriously attempt it, despite being explicitly barred from doing so by the US constitution.
“The biggest mistake of the last eight years is that we somehow failed to give credibility to Donald Trump’s whims and impulses, but we know it’s true,” David Jolly, a former Republican member of Congress, told MSNBC.
“January 6 was a perfect example. If he says he’s not ruling it out, then he’s not ruling it out, and we should consider it a constitutional threat.”
On Sunday Trump was asked on NBC’s Meet the Press about if there were plans for him to stay on in a third term as president. “Well, there are plans,” Trump said. “There are – not plans. There are methods – there are methods which you could do it, as you know.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump added.
The 22nd amendment of the constitution states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”
Trump has previously suggested that he might serve a third term as president, and recently referred to himself as a “king”.
John Dean, an attorney who served as counsel to former president Richard Nixon, said that debate over whether a US president can run for a third term is not new, citing a kind of “loophole” that some Trump backers have suggested using – namely, a term-limited president becoming a vice-presidential candidate, and then assuming the top job if the new president steps aside once elected.
“A lot of people thought [Barack] Obama should go for another term, he didn’t,” Dean told CNN. “He read the constitution and said ‘I’m not for end runs’.”
Democrats have attacked Trump for his rhetoric, claiming it follows a pattern of authoritarian posturing by the president.
“This is what dictators do,” said Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
“In three months, Trump has crashed the stock market and spiked costs. Now, he’s scheming for a third term instead of doing anything to make Americans’ lives better.”
Jasmine Crockett, a Democratic congresswoman, posted on social media: “The Constitution isn’t optional, sir. This isn’t a reality show – it’s reality.
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“Two terms, that’s it.”
A few Republicans have argued Trump should be allowed to run again.
In January, Andy Ogles, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, introduced a resolution expressing support for amending the constitution to allow a president to serve up to three terms – under the condition that they did not serve two consecutive terms. Trump won the 2016 election but lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden before winning again last year.
The chances of such an amendment would be remote given the divided nature of politics in the US: it requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, then ratification by three-quarters of state legislatures.
On Sunday, though, John Curtis, a Republican senator, laughingly dismissed the idea of a Trump third term. “I wouldn’t have supported a third term for George Washington,” Curtis told NBC. “That’s a no.”
