Donald Trump
By Akeem Atoyebi
President Donald Trump on Sunday reiterated his suggestion that he might go for a third term as US president, NBC News reported, an idea officially considered unconstitutional, and which would disrupt defiantly the two-term limit stipulated in the US constitution.
In a Sunday-morning phone call with NBC News, Trump said “I’m not joking,” when prodded to give further clarification to a remark on seeking another term, adding: “There are methods which you could do it.”
The 78-year-old billionaire has a history of making suggestions which run against constitution, he has repeatedly suggested he might serve more than two terms, but Sunday’s statements were the most concrete and daring in terms of referring to plans to achieve the goal.
Trump unveiled his second presidency with an unprecedented blitz of executive power, using the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, to dismantle swaths of the government, and said his supporters want even more.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump told NBC News on Sunday. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
Amending the US constitution to allow a third presidential term would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, which Trump’s Republican Party does not have.
Trump said it was “far too early to think about it,” but told NBC he had been presented with plans that would allow him to seek reelection.
When NBC asked Trump of a possible scenario whereby Vice President JD Vance would run for president and then abdicate the role to Trump, the US president said “that’s one” method.
He added that “there are others,” but refused to share further details.
If Trump does not approach Congress for the constitutional amendment, he would need to get support from two-thirds of the country’s 50 states to call a constitutional convention that would propose changes to the charter.
