Controversial constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz has advised President Donald Trump that the question of his potentially running for a third term isn’t entirely settled, despite the existence of the 22nd Amendment.
Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor who has represented both Trump and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein before, told The Wall Street Journal in a Wednesday interview that he had presented the president with a copy of his forthcoming book, titled Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?
He explained that the book, scheduled for publication in 2026, examines a number of scenarios in which a president could serve a third term.
“I said, ‘It’s not clear if a president can become a third-term president, and it’s not clear if it’s permissible,’” Dershowitz told the Wall Street Journal of his conversation with Trump.
“He found it interesting as an intellectual issue,” Dershowitz continued. “Do I think he’s going to run for a third term? No, I don’t think he will run for a third term.”
In response to Dershowitz’s interview with The Wall Street Journal, the White House told Axios that the U.S. would be “lucky” to have a third Trump term.
“There has never been an administration that has accomplished as much in less than one year than the Trump Administration,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. “The American people would be lucky to have President Trump in office for even longer.”
Trump has previously hinted at running for a third term, including at the White House Congressional Ball last Friday.
“Have a great Christmas, a great Hanukkah, and a fantastic year,” he told attendees. “We’re going to have a great three years, four years, 10 years, we’re going to make it great. Our country’s going to be strong, safe, rich, it’s going to be great. We’re going to make America great again!”
Trump has also joked about a never-ending presidency in a video posted to Truth Social, and began selling “Trump 2028″ hats in his online merch store in April.
Some of the president’s supporters have also expressed a desire to see him run for a third term, including Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. In November, Bannon said that he was talking with “one of the top constitutional lawyers in the country” about strategies to circumvent the 22nd Amendment.
Trump’s camp continues to send mixed signals about a potential third Trump term. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who described the president as having an “alcoholic’s personality” in an illuminating Vanity Fair interview this week, also told the publication that the president knows he can’t run for a third term.
In addition, the president said as much himself in October, telling reporters that the Constitution is “pretty clear” that he’s “not allowed to run.”
“If you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad,” he told reporters on board Air Force One.
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