Prominent right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon said on Friday that President Donald Trump and his team have “many different alternatives” to ensure he serves a third term and can remain president after the 2028 presidential election.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s team for comment via email on Saturday morning.
Why It Matters
Trump and his allies have repeatedly teased the idea of him seeking a third term, despite most legal analysts agreeing that this would violate the U.S. Constitution as all U.S. presidents are limited to two terms in office, with Trump now in his second and final term.
Calls for Trump to be allowed to run for a third term follow warnings issued by Democrats during the 2024 campaign that he would rule as an authoritarian once back in the White House.
What to Know
Bannon, who served as the CEO of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and as an adviser during his first administration, spoke to NewsNation host Chris Cuomo for an interview on Friday evening.
During the discussion, he reiterated his view that Trump will remain president after the 2028 election. Bannon, who founded and hosts the War Room podcast, said proposed tax reform plans from the Trump administration would help him get reelected.
“Politically, it’s going to help him in his reelect in 2028 which he just put the merchandise up last night,” Bannon said, adding he was sending “hats, tees and swag” for Cuomo and his crew in New York.
When pressed by Cuomo on how Trump would get around constitutionally mandated term limits for presidents, Bannon said there are options, without getting into specifics.
“We have many different alternatives to make sure President Trump on the afternoon of January 2029 is the President of the United States, many different alternatives. And we will roll those out over time,” he said.
As Bannon noted, the official Trump Store began selling 2028 merchandise this week, including hats and T-shirts. “The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the new Trump 2028 t-shirt,” says the Trump store listing for the product, which is priced at $36.
What the Constitution Says About Presidential Term Limits
Most legal analysts say there is no constitutional path to a third term for a president. The 22nd Amendment reads: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”
Some have suggested unconventional paths for Trump to get around the Constitution, as repeal of the amendment is believed to be all but impossible given current political dynamics. One idea floated by some is for Trump to be the vice-presidential nominee, and then whoever serves as president could step aside after winning.
However, legal analysts believe even this would be constitutionally tenuous and would likely be blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court. Others have warned that Trump could just ignore the Constitution and simply remain in office, with no clear way to force him out.
What Trump Has Said About a Third Term
In an interview with TIME magazine published on Friday, Trump said there are “some loopholes that have been discussed” to allow him to serve a third term. However, he said he does not “believe in using loopholes.”
“I have more people begging me to run again, but I haven’t looked at even the possibility,” he said.
In a March 30 interview with NBC News, Trump gave a similar answer when asked about the possibility.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” the president said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
Trump went on to say that he likes “working” and that’s he’s “not joking” about a possible third term.
“But I’m not—it is far too early to think about it…There are methods which you could do it,” he said.
What People Are Saying
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, when asked in an April 1 press conference about a potential third term for Trump: “There’s a constitutional path. You have to amend the Constitution to do it, and that’s a high bar.”
Senator John Curtis, a Utah Republican, to NBC News in March when asked about a possible third Trump term: “I wouldn’t have supported a third term for [former President] George Washington,” he responded, laughing. “That’s a no, yeah.”
Steve Bannon to NewsNation in March: “I’m a firm believer that President Trump will run and win again in 2028, so I’ve already endorsed President Trump. A man like this comes along once every century, if we’re lucky. We’ve got him now.”
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek last month: “Aside from the potential vice president loophole, there is no legal path for Trump to run for a third term. Politically, he doesn’t have the votes to repeal the 22nd Amendment, either in Congress or the states.”
Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, previously told Newsweek in a January statement: “By now, Donald Trump’s pattern is predictable: ‘joke’ about something unconstitutional or authoritarian; normalize the ‘joke’; allow sycophantic Republicans to adopt the ‘joke’ as a serious idea until it becomes MAGA orthodoxy.”
What Happens Next?
An amendment to the Constitution to allow Trump to run again is unlikely to be approved by Congress. Any constitutional amendment must be passed by a two-thirds majority vote in the House and Senate and then ratified by at least 38 of the 50 U.S. states.
Any other “alternatives,” as Bannon described them, would likely trigger a significant constitutional crisis.
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