Is Donald Trump joking — or testing the limits? Inside his long game on a “third term” for 2028 presidential run

When Donald Trump jokes, Washington listens — and then nervously checks the Constitution.

While members of Congress have brushed off the idea of a Trump third term as pure theater, the president’s mixed messages suggest he’s enjoying keeping everyone guessing — and maybe, just maybe, seeing how far the joke can go.

The 22nd Amendment is clear — a president can serve only two terms. But that hasn’t stopped Trump or his supporters from fanning speculation that he might somehow find a way around it. Trump 2028 hats, T-shirts, and can coolers are already selling briskly online, and a small group of loyalists — calling themselves The Third Term Project — are floating far-fetched legal workarounds to keep him in office, Axios reported.

Asked Monday if he’d rule out running again, Trump dodged — saying only that he “would love to do it.” He also mused about a possible JD Vance–Marco Rubio ticket and joked that his poll numbers are so high “another run could be on the table.”

The constitutional reality:
The 22nd Amendment explicitly bars anyone from being elected president more than twice. To overturn that rule would require either:

• A constitutional convention called by 34 states (an improbable scenario), or
  
  
• An act of Congress amending the Constitution (a political impossibility).
  
  

Even Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon has stoked the fire, claiming last week there’s “a plan” to keep Trump in the Oval Office beyond two terms — though he offered no evidence.

Trump’s not-so-serious history of teasing it:

• March 2018: Praised China’s Xi Jinping for being “president for life” and joked, “Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday.”
  
  
• December 2019: Told students, “If you want to drive them crazy, say ‘16 more years.’”
  
  
• August 2020: Argued he deserved “a redo” of his first term because “they spied on my campaign.”
  
  
• April 2025: Claimed there are “methods” that could make it possible — and insisted, “I’m not joking.”
  
  
• May 2025: Walked it back, saying he’d rather “turn it over to a great Republican.”
• 2025: Who can forget Trump 2028 hat which was the part of main political discussion.
  
  
• October 2025: When pressed, replied slyly, “Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me.”

The bottom line:
Trump’s third-term talk may be trolling, nostalgia, or political theater — but it’s also a test balloon. The Constitution may say two terms max, but as long as Trump’s selling $50 “Trump 2028” hats, it’s safe to say the idea — joke or not — isn’t going away anytime soon.