President Donald Trump speaks to press ahead of boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2025, as he departs for a rally in Michigan to mark his 100th day in office. Credit – Mandel Ngan—Getty Images
At a rally in Michigan on Tuesday, April 29, held to mark the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump smiled as the crowd chanted “three,” a call for the President to serve a third term.
In response, Trump said: “Well, we actually already served three, if you count. But remember, I like the victories, I like the three victories which we absolutely had. I just don’t like the results of the middle term.”
Trump, who won his first election in 2016 but then lost to former President Joe Biden in 2020, appeared to once again be denying the results of the 2020 election.
In actual fact, 2020 saw Trump fall short in key battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, where he was on Tuesday. During his rally, he also incorrectly stated that he won Michigan three times.
Read More: Inside Trump’s First 100 Days
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he won the 2020 election, arguing that voter fraud occurred. Two days after election day, whilst vote counting was still ongoing, he posted on social media “STOP THE COUNT!” And once major news outlets had confirmed Biden as the 46th President, Trump again remarked: “This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.” Amid this election denial, the riots of Jan. 6, 2021, occurred.
Meanwhile, Trump’s comments at the rally come after much discussion and teasing of a possible third term, only strengthened by the fact the President’s online store is now selling “Trump 2028” merchandise.
Due to the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. constitution, this is the second—and final—term that Trump can serve. But this has not stopped him and his Administration from talking about a third.
In an interview with TIME on April 22, marking his first 100 days back in office, Trump was asked about the possibility of seeking a third term and how he had recently said he was “not joking” about pursuing that avenue.
He said: “I’d rather not discuss that now, but as you know, there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known. But I don’t believe in loopholes. I don’t believe in using loopholes.”
Read More: The Full Transcript of Donald Trump’s ‘100 Days’ Interview With TIME
It echoed what he told NBC in an interview at the end of March, in which he said there are methods available to do it, something he emphasized he was not joking about.
But in an interview with the Atlantic, published on April 28, Trump said that running for a third term in 2028 is not something he is looking into.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also recently shared a similar message, saying that Trump running for a third time “is not something that he is thinking of,” whilst joking that Trump 2028 hats are “flying off the shelves.”
Contact us at letters@time.com.
