President Donald Trump was again asked if he would run for a third term, despite the Constitution’s two-term limit.
“No, probably not,” Trump said in a CNBC interview on Aug. 5. “Probably not, I’d like to.”
Trump has toyed with the idea of going for another term since his return to office. This was perhaps his strongest dismissal of the idea, though he has also admitted he wasn’t allowed to.
Still, the Trump Organization, owned by the president and managed by his eldest sons, continues to offer “Trump 2028” red hats for sale at $50.
“The future looks bright!” The website selling the hat reads. “Rewrite the rules with the Trump 2028 high crown hat.”
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Can Donald Trump run for a third term?
Under the Constitution as it stands, Trump cannot serve a third term in office. It is explicitly barred by the 22nd Amendment.
Changes to the Constitution are extremely difficult and rare, as they require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate. States can also spur an amendment, but it requires two-thirds of the state legislatures to call a constitutional convention and three-fourths to ratify it.
Trump won the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton, becoming the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He then lost the 2020 election against former President Joe Biden.
Trump won the 2024 election. At first, Trump was up for a rematch before Biden dropped his re-election bid and was replaced on the Democratic ticket by former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s second term as the 47th U.S. president is slated for 2025 to 2029.
What has Trump said about running for president again?
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of a third term throughout his second presidency. In a March NBC interview, he said there are methods to make it happen, including if Vice President JD Vance runs for office and then hands the role to Trump.
In a later interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired on May 4, Trump backed off the idea, saying he was not looking at running again.
“I will say this. So many people want me to do it. I have never had requests so strong as that,” Trump said in the interview with NBC. “But it’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do. I don’t know if that’s constitutional that they’re not allowing you to do it or anything else.”
The Trump Organization did not previously respond to a request for comment on the 2028 hats.
Only one president has served more than two terms
America’s founding father and first president, President George Washington, voluntarily stepped down after two terms, creating an unofficial tradition for future presidents to follow suit.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first and only president to break that tradition. The country was still recovering from the Great Depression, and at the dawn of World War II, he was re-elected to his third term. After leading the country through the global war, he was elected again in 1944, but died the following year.
A movement in the House of Representatives to officially limit the presidency terms, now ratified as the 22nd Amendment, began two years after Roosevelt’s death.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Riley Beggin, Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can Trump run for a third term? No, the president has term limits
