Trump won't use 'loopholes' to seek third term in White House

8 hours ago 6

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President Donald Trump said he didn't believe in using "loopholes" to seek a third term in office during an interview with Time Magazine published Friday, although he still didn't shut down the idea entirely.

Trump and some allies have floated the idea of seeking a third term in 2028, although the Constitution's 22nd Amendment prohibits presidents from serving more than two terms in office.

"You recently said you were "not joking" about seeking a third term and that there were methods to do it. What methods?" Time asked.

"I'd rather not discuss that now, but as you know, there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known," Trump said. "But I don't believe in loopholes. I don't believe in using loopholes."

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President Donald Trump is only the second person in history to win two non-consecutive terms in office. ((Photo by Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images))

"You wouldn’t run as vice president to J.D. Vance?" Time asked.

Trump replied by touting his results on a recent cognitive test.

"I don’t know anything about, what, look, all I can say is this, I am being inundated with requests," he said. "I'm doing a good job. Great physical exam, and unlike every other president, I took the cognitive test and I aced it 100% and I bet you guys couldn't get 100% on that exam. It's a tough exam. You know, when you get into the mid questions, it gets to be pretty tricky and pretty tough, and the last questions are very tough, and I aced it. And I guarantee, I'd give you, I'd make a big, beautiful bet that you guys couldn't ace it."

Trump told NBC News in March that he was "not joking" about a third term, prompting alarmed reactions from Democrats and some Republicans who said he was making a power grab.

"A lot of people want me to do it," Trump said. "But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration."

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

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Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally who served briefly in his first administration, declared to HBO's Bill Maher earlier this month that Trump was going to do it.

"President Trump is going to run for a third term, and President Trump is going to be elected again on the afternoon of January 20th of 2029. He's going to be President of the United States," Bannon told a skeptical Maher.

Three-quarters of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos national survey conducted April 16-21 and released on Monday said Trump should not run for a third term. Trump, the oldest elected president ever, will be 82 at the conclusion of his second, non-consecutive term in 2029.