A forecast made in December 2024 by veteran broadcaster Geraldo Rivera has gained renewed attention as President Donald Trump continues to flirt with the idea of serving beyond 2028, despite constitutional barriers that would prevent him from seeking a third term. Rivera, once a close ally of Trump who severed ties over 2020 election fraud claims, posted on X on Dec. 17, 2024, predicting that “President Trump & Co. will soon start chattering about revoking/amending the 22d Amendment, which limits presidents to two four year terms.” He pointedly asked, “Trump in 2028?”
The veteran journalist calculated that such an effort would require 38 of 50 state governments to agree to convene—representing three-quarters of states—and noted Trump had won just 30 in 2024. Yet the question Rivera posed has persisted through a series of presidential statements that swing between acknowledging constitutional limits and keeping the door ajar.
Constitutional Obstacles and Legal Interpretation
The 22nd Amendment’s language is direct: no person shall be elected president more than twice. Law professor Ilya Somin said the best reading renders Trump ineligible for a third term, though he warned the question is not airtight. Some experts point out that the word “elected” could theoretically open a loophole for someone to serve without being elected a third time, but such an interpretation would still demand acceptance from the courts, Congress and voters evaluating Trump’s track record and advanced age—when Inauguration Day 2029 arrives, he will have reached 82 years old, surpassing the age of every previous president at swearing-in.
On Oct. 29, 2025, Trump seemed to accept those constraints. During a flight to Gyeongju, South Korea, he told Air Force One reporters that his polling had never been stronger, yet he recognized from his reading that the law prevented another campaign. He acknowledged the amendment’s wording was unambiguous in blocking another run and called it “too bad,” while noting the party had many great people.
That same trip included an evening reception at the Hilton Gyeongju hotel, where South Korean President Lee Jae Myung served as host. Trump also rejected a vice-presidential workaround scenario, calling it “too cute” while forecasting that the electorate would refuse to accept such tactics. One day earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson had informed the press he saw no viable route to a third Trump presidency following a direct conversation with the president.
Bannon’s Claim and Trump’s Mixed Signals
Yet just days earlier, on Oct. 27, 2025, reporters traveling with the president from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo, Japan, heard Trump declare aboard Air Force One that he would welcome another 2028 bid, pointing to record-high approval ratings. The president’s fluctuating remarks came amid predictions from former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who has no formal role in the administration. Bannon told The Economist in October 2025 that a third Trump presidency was inevitable and Americans should “get accommodated with that.” Bannon asserted that a strategy had been developed and would become public when the moment was right.
During a March 30, 2026, NBC News interview with anchor Kristen Welker, she presented a hypothetical in which Vice President JD Vance or another ally could run in 2028 with Trump as the vice presidential nominee, then step aside after winning. Trump told her the idea was one option among several and insisted he was not joking.
Meanwhile, Trump has been selling red “Trump 2028” hats, merchandise he brought out at a gathering with Democratic leaders as federal government shutdown talks unfolded—a 43-day impasse that the White House subsequently attributed to Democratic intransigence. His critics read such gestures as provocation even as he publicly concedes the constitutional text appears to block him.
Vance, Rubio and the 2028 Succession
On the “Pod Force One with Miranda Devine” podcast, Vance revealed that during a private White House lunch roughly half a year prior, Trump had floated the possibility of a 2028 ticket featuring Vance and Rubio. The vice president characterized the exchange as ahead of schedule and noted he had jokingly relayed the notion to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, adding that if they took care of business, the politics would take care of itself.
Asked whether Trump’s silence on who should lead the ticket might strain his relationship with Rubio, Vance said there would be no tension and called Rubio his closest ally in the administration. The discussion has fueled speculation about a 2028 Republican ticket pairing Vance with Rubio and raised questions about whether any constitutional workaround exists.
For now, the president’s own words remain the story’s engine—from his October 2025 concession that the rules appear to block him, to the “Trump 2028″ merchandise that seems to shrug those rules off entirely. And the amendment fight Rivera flagged in December 2024 has yet to materialize as the formal campaign he warned about: Rivera’s own math underscored why, noting Trump would need 38 states to convene and had carried just 30. Whether the former friend’s prediction proves prescient or premature, it framed the question the country is still asking—”Trump in 2028?”