President Donald Trump has indicated he could seek a third term under a loophole in the Constitution, but the majority of Americans may not think it’s a good idea.
The Republican leader told NBC News Sunday that there are “methods” to go about securing a third term. While he added that he’s “not joking,” he said it’s too early in his second term to be thinking about the possibility.
In a poll from the Democracy Institute, respondents shared their opinions on whether or not Trump should be allowed to run for a third time. Of the 1,360 likely American voters surveyed, 42% said yes, indicating Trump should be allowed, while 48% said no. There were 10% of voters who were unsure.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump told NBC News. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
When asked if he would want to be president for a third time, Trump – who would be 82 in 2028 – replied: ““I like working.”
NBC News asked Trump about the possible scenario of JD Vance running as president with Trump on the ticket as vice president. In that situation, Vance would then step down, letting Trump take over again.
Trump said that “that’s one” method. He added “there are others too,” but refused to share what they are.
The 22nd amendment bars two-term presidents from being elected for a third term. Some academics argue the wording in the amendment, specifically the use of the word “elected,” doesn’t prohibit a former president from becoming vice president.
And, in that scenario, if the president were to resign, die or be removed from office, the vice president would become president again.
Not all experts agree with the legitimacy of this loophole. Some say the wording in the 12th amendment prohibits a former president from becoming vice president.
The last sentence in that amendment reads: “But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”
If this hypothetical did become a reality, it would be up to the Supreme Court, stacked with multiple Trump appointees, to interpret the Constitution.
In January, a Republican house representative proposed a joint resolution that would allow Trump to run again. The proposal states a president could serve a third term if they have not served two consecutive terms.
This prohibits any other former president, besides Trump, from serving a third term. Trump is one of two presidents to ever serve non-consecutive terms, and the other was Grover Cleveland.
The fieldwork for this survey of a randomly selected national telephone (landline and cell) sample of 1,360 likely American voters was conducted by the DI polling unit between March 26 and 27.
The turnout consisted of 37% Republican, 35% Democrat, and 28% Independent. The survey was conducted via interactive voice response, in which recorded questions were played for randomly-dialed respondents and answers were given via their telephone keypads.
To ensure a representative sample, the results were weighted for key demographic and political variables including, but not limited to, party identification, gender, age, education, income, region, voting history, and cell phone-only households.
This national poll has a margin of error of (+/-) 3 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval.
