Deborah Akinyosoye
Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his suggestion that he might seek a third term as US president, NBC News reported, which would defy 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 asked to clarify a remark on seeking another term, adding: “There are methods which you could do it.”
The 78-year-old billionaire has a history of suggesting he might serve more than two terms, but Sunday’s remarks were the most concrete in terms of referring to plans to achieve the goal.
Trump has launched 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.
Whether he goes through Congress or the states, he would then require ratification from three-quarters of all states.
Both routes appear to be unlikely, given the current number of states and Congressional seats under Republican control.
A constitutional convention has never been successfully called in the United States, where all 27 constitutional amendments have been passed by the congressional method.
In January, days after Trump took office, Republican Andy Ogles of Tennessee introduced a House joint resolution to amend the constitution to allow presidents up to three terms.