Former President Donald Trump stated on Monday that many Americans are urging him to seek another term, despite the constitutional prohibition on serving more than two terms. He continues to suggest the possibility, though he has not pursued it seriously.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when questioned about the idea of a third term. “I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” he added.
Trump also commented on the idea of facing former President Barack Obama in a hypothetical race, should Obama return to politics after his two terms in office. “That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
On Sunday, Trump clarified his stance in an interview with NBC News, saying, “I’m not joking” about the possibility of running for a third term.
Trump, 78, served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term on January 20, 2021. The tradition of limiting a president to two terms dates back to George Washington, the first U.S. president, who chose not to seek a third term in 1797. This tradition became law with the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, which states that no president can be elected to office more than twice.
