At a New York Republican gala held on Sunday, December 15, 2024, Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist, proposed that Donald Trump might potentially seek a third presidential term in 2028, despite constitutional restrictions.
Geraldo Rivera, a former friend of Trump, also anticipates growing debates about amending the Constitution.
Rivera, a former Fox News personality and now a NewsNation correspondent-at-large, shared on X: “For future reference: President Trump & Co. will soon start chattering about revoking/amending the 22d Amendment, which limits presidents to two four-year terms.”
The prediction from Rivera comes in the wake of his complex relationship with Trump. After maintaining a 50-year friendship and frequently defending the former president, Rivera publicly split from Trump over his statements regarding the 2020 election. He referred to Trump as an “entitled frat boy” stirring up too much controversy over his election loss. Rivera left Fox News in June 2023, citing its right-leaning shift in its coverage of Trump.
As per the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice.” Legal experts and constitutional scholars affirm this restriction applies to both consecutive and non-consecutive terms, leaving no room for third-term interpretation. Any attempt to aim for a third term would be unconstitutional.
At the New York Young Republican Club Gala, Bannon suggested that Trump could circumvent the 22nd Amendment since his terms would not be back-to-back. His speech included promoting the “Trump ’28” idea at the Manhattan event.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) stated that Trump’s past remarks about extending his tenure in the White House beyond 2028 “are not jokes” but are “trial balloons.” Goldman added, “They are very intentionally designed to soften the response and then to normalize his unconstitutional and anti-democratic goals.”
Discussing the situation, Late Night host Seth Meyers drew parallels to people testing boundaries under the pretext of humor, implying that Republicans often float controversial ideas as jokes, only to later reveal their seriousness. He likened their tactics to casually proposing an audacious idea to assess others’ responses, indicating they might be serious.
To change the Constitution and abolish the two-term limit would necessitate approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate, and then ratification from 38 state legislatures. Rivera pointed out in his social media post that Trump won 30 states in 2024, which is short of the required threshold for a constitutional amendment.
In reaction to the escalating discourse around a third presidential term, Representative Goldman introduced a resolution to reinforce the restrictions of the 22nd Amendment. The resolution underscores that the two-term limit applies cumulatively, irrespective of whether the terms are served continuously or with a gap. It also clarifies that the amendment provides no interpretation or loophole that could allow a president to serve a third term.
Mike Davis, a former aide to Trump, has publicly disapproved of the third term idea, labeling it as “crazy” and distancing himself from suggestions of exploiting constitutional loopholes.