Trump says ‘there are methods’ for seeking a third term, adding that he’s ‘not joking’

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Sunday did not dismiss the idea of pursuing a third term in the White House, despite the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution prohibiting it, claiming that “there are methods” to achieving this and emphasizing that he was “not joking.”

“A lot of people want me to do it. But … my thinking is, we have a long way to go. I’m focused on the current,” Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker on Sunday.

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1951, states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

“There are methods which you could do it,” the president said when asked whether there are strategies on the table to allow him to seek another term. Welker mentioned a possible plan in which Vice President JD Vance would run in 2028 and then “pass the baton” to Trump. “Well, that’s one. But there are others too,” the president said, before refusing to elaborate.

The term-limited president has frequently teased a third presidency but clarified Sunday that he’s “not joking” this time.

“I’m not joking,” Trump told Welker, reiterating, “It is far too early to think about it.”

Trump has frequently teased a third term, saying at rally in Nevada in January that “it will be the greatest honor of my life to serve, not once but twice or three times or four times,” apparently joking. He later clarified: “No, it will be to serve twice. For the next four years, I will not rest.”

Weeks later, Trump asked supporters during a Black History Month event at the White House whether he should run again, prompting chants of “Four more years!”

But Steve Bannon, a top outside ally to the president, has suggested that Trump is eligible since the amendment doesn’t specify “consecutive” terms.

In the House, Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, has introduced legislation to begin the long process of tweaking the text of the 22nd Amendment and allowing a president who serves nonconsecutive terms to serve a third four-year term. The wording of Ogles’ proposal would exclude two-term former presidents such as Barack Obama from coming out of retirement.

Repealing or changing the 22nd Amendment would require two-thirds votes in both the House and the Senate and the ratification by three-quarters of the states. The only president to serve more than two terms was Franklin D. Roosevelt. The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, in the years following Roosevelt’s death in office.

“It’s illegal. He has no chance. That’s all there is to say,” Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s law school, told CNN last month.

At the end of his second term in January 2029, Trump will be the oldest person to ever hold the presidency at 82 years and 7 months old, topping his predecessor Joe Biden’s record. Biden was 82 years and 2 months old when he left office.

CNN’s Betsy Klein and Zachary B. Wolf contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.