Trump says he's considering ways to serve third term as president

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday said "there are methods" that would allow him to seek a third term in the White House, despite the U.S. Constitution limiting presidents to two elected terms in office.

"A lot of people want me to do it," Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in a phone interview about the prospect he would seek a third term.

"My thinking is, we have a long way to go," said Trump, who turns 79 in June. "I’m focused on the current."

A number of Trump’s prominent allies have been floating the prospect of another presidential campaign regardless of the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment barring a person from being elected president more than twice. Former Trump White House adviser and conservative media host Steve Bannon recently said allies have been exploring "a couple of alternatives" that would allow Trump to serve a third term, and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) filed a House resolution in January calling for the Constitution to be amended to allow Trump to seek a third term.

Asked if he had been presented with plans to explore serving again as president, Trump, who is two months into his second term, said: "Well, there are plans. There are — not plans. There are, there are methods which you could do it, as you know."

Amending the U.S. Constitution would be a massive yearslong undertaking that would require a two-thirds vote by both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures. The proposed amendment would then need to be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures.

The 22nd Amendment was approved by Congress in March 1947 and finally ratified by the necessary number of states in February 1951, according to the National Constitution Center. The amendment was proposed in part to address concerns raised after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms between 1932 and 1944, breaking from previous precedent of presidents serving only two terms, according to the center. Roosevelt defended his time in office, arguing the country needed stability during World War II.

Since 1956, there have been more than 50 proposals introduced in the U.S. House to repeal the 22nd Amendment, but none have been successful in getting congressional approval, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Trump told NBC News he was "not joking" about the prospect of seeking a third term, describing his administration as "very popular," but he also noted "we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration."

Asked about the possibility of Vice President JD Vance running for president and, if elected, then ultimately passing the baton to Trump, the president acknowledged "that’s one" possible scenario that has been floated.

"But there are others too," Trump said, declining to elaborate.

Trump on the campaign trail often jokingly spoke about serving more than two terms, and since taking office he has continued to float the possibility of serving more than eight years as president.

In a November meeting with House Republicans shortly after his 2024 election victory, Trump, according to The New York Times, said: "I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out.’ ”

At a Jan. 27 rally in Las Vegas, he told the crowd: "It will be the greatest honor of my life to serve not once, but twice or three times or four times."

He quickly added: "Headlines, headlines for the fake news. No, it will be to serve twice."

Speaking at a Black History Month event at the White House last month, Trump asked the audience: "Should I run again?" The crowd of supporters broke out in chants of "four more years."

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.