Donald Trump could end up following through on his threat of running for a third presidential term—and the Supreme Court may help him do it, author Michael Wolff says.
Appearing on the Daily Beast podcast Inside Trump’s Head, the Trump biographer reflected on how the president’s actions since his January inauguration seem designed to put in place “the mechanisms which might ensure continued electoral success.”
“The thing about an authoritarian… you can go down the list here of Donald Trump targeting—specifically targeting—his political opponents, Donald Trump exerting ever more control over courts, media, universities, businesses, of him explicitly targeting blue state governors and legislatures, and finally, locking in the mechanisms which might ensure continued electoral success,” Wolff told co-host Joanna Coles.
“These are the moves of an authoritarian, clearly,” Wolff said, adding that those same moves also provide more reason for Trump to want to stay in office.
“The problem with this is that an authoritarian breaks so many rules and makes so many enemies that in order to avoid retribution, he has to stay in power,” Wolff said. “That is the nature of the game that is being played. So, if he has four years of dominating government, all branches of government…” Wolff, who long dismissed that Trump would run for a third time, continued: “I’m going to take it back, I think that it becomes a very real possibility that he will undo the impediments to a third term.”
“Actually, if you think about it, as he pursues this course,” Wolff said, “he will have to do that because the consequences of the Democrats taking power would be devastating.”
When reached for comment, the White House, which has issued dozens of statements to the Daily Beast calling Wolff a “lying sack of s–t,” didn’t do that. Instead, a spokesperson responded with a photograph of a grinning Trump meeting with lawmakers just before the federal government shutdown began, with red “Trump 2028″ hats on the Resolute Desk.
Next November’s midterms could allow Democrats to begin investigations into Trump if they secure more blue seats. In fact, Wolff said he has heard that that was one reason the administration has moved so quickly.
But, Wolff cautioned, a pending Supreme Court ruling could make a Democratic flip of the House of Representatives extremely unlikely.
The conservative-majority court on Wednesday heard from plaintiffs who questioned the legality of part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which mandated the creation of majority-minority districts for fair representation. If nullified, GOP states could redraw congressional districts to box Democrats out of power, particularly in the South. Republicans, who currently have a six-members advantage, could then gain 12 seats, a New York Times analysis found.
For years—as far back as 2020—Trump has been alluding to serving longer than the Constitution allows.
In addition to the official Trump merchandise store hawking hats to that effect, the president has commented on the possibility of serving “three times or four times.” In late 2023, he refused to rule out breaking the law after Fox News host Sean Hannity gave him the perfect chance to say that he would not.
Just a few days into Trump’s term, one MAGA Republican introduced legislation clearing the way for another. Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles’s resolution, which conveniently would prevent Barack Obama and other presidents who served two consecutive terms from returning to the White House, faces an uphill climb. Two-thirds of Congress and 38 states would have to approve.
An alternative option, experts say, would involve Trump being out of office—but only temporarily. Since the 22nd Amendment bars a candidate from being elected to a third presidential term but not from serving, Trump could conceivably be the running mate of someone else, who would resign immediately after being sworn in.
Or, Trump may just run for reelection and see who stops him. In that case, any lawsuits would undoubtedly end up at the Supreme Court. But, as Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested Thursday, she and the other eight justices have a limited ability to force the president to comply with its rulings.
“We interpret the Constitution, we draw on precedents, we have these questions of structure, and we make the most with the tools that we have,” she told the New York Times when asked how the court would respond if a president refused to follow the law.
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