President Donald Trump is cagey about whether he might try to stay in office after his current term expires. He frequently says that other people want him to do it, and the Trump Organization is selling Trump 2028 hats. In March, he said that he is “not joking” when he refers to a possible third term. More recently, he said that a third term is “something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do” but then immediately questioned the constitutionality of being prevented from running again. When pressed about how he would serve a third term despite the Constitution’s rule against being elected more than twice, he said, “There are ways of doing it.”
In short, Trump is aware that if he wants to serve a third term, the Constitution—in particular, the Twenty-Second Amendment—presents a problem. But he’s not precluding the possibility. Problems can be solved. Notice how he frames the issue: For the president, the Constitution is not a repository of values that he must respect. When it stands in the way of his interests, it is an obstacle to be overcome.
When Trump says, “There are ways of doing it,” he has in mind work-arounds like the one he calls “the vice-president
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