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Trump believes ‘everybody wants him to run’ for the third time
Donald Trump believes Americans want him to run for a third term, joking about it during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Donald Trump said he is convinced that Americans want him to serve a third term while hosting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House.
During the visit, Trump, surrounded by his branded merchandise, held up a ‘Trump 2028’ hat and quipped: “You know, you’re not allowed to run, but I’m 28 points higher than anybody, and everybody wants me to run.”
The joke raised eyebrows for two reasons: first, the U.S. Constitution limits a president to two elected terms; second, Trump has hinted before that he might not be entirely joking.
Like a recent CNBC interview, he said, “I’d like to run, I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had. You know why?”
“Because people love the tariffs, and they love that foreign countries aren’t ripping us off.”
Azerbaijani Prez would like to see Trump in the Oval more
Irish Star cited a Reddit thread discussing Trump's past similar comments, even floating a hypothetical workaround. The post details Trump once suggested that Vice President JD Vance could run for president, win, then step down, allowing Trump to take the position again.
“Trump's comments about running again in 2028, despite the constitutional limit, are part of a broader narrative where he has previously suggested ways to circumvent term limits, such as having Vice President JD Vance run and then resign, as reported in April 2025,” the Reddit thread read.
Notably, in the video documenting Aliyev’s visit, the Azerbaijani leader even joined in the banter, telling Trump he’d like to see him run again.
Can Trump run for a third time?
Legally, the 22nd Amendment prevents someone from being elected president more than twice. However, it doesn’t explicitly bar a two-term president from becoming vice president or assuming the presidency through the line of succession.
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The 12th Amendment also states that anyone constitutionally ineligible to be president cannot serve as vice president, but a former two-term president isn’t considered constitutionally ineligible, only barred from winning another election for the role.
