Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has claimed that the former president “will be president in 2028” and that people “just ought to get accommodated with that”
Steve Bannon, one of the key figures behind contemporary alt-right media, declared in an interview with The Economist this week that President Donald Trump “will be president in 2028 and people just ought to get accommodated with that.”
Constitutional scholars emphasise that the concept of a president seeking a third term, never mind completing one, is expressly forbidden by the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – a restriction that Trump and his supporters have previously stated they are “not joking” about contesting.
Bannon – Trump’s former chief strategist who received a 2020 presidential pardon following his conviction for money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud – this week described Trump as a “vehicle of divine providence. “We have to finish what we started,” declared Bannon, who gained notoriety in 2016 for his political tactic of “flooding the zone with (you-know-what).
Whilst constitutional experts maintain there are “no credible legal arguments” supporting a third presidential term, Bannon insisted there are “many different alternatives” Trump could explore.
Trump has repeatedly alluded to the prospect of pursuing a third term since returning to office in January. He has mentioned in media interviews that “a lot of people want me to do it,” whilst his organisation markets £50 red caps bearing “Trump 2028” embroidery, reports the Mirror US.
His son, Eric, was photographed sporting the hat in a listing on Trump’s official online merchandise shop accompanied by the caption: “The future looks bright!” In January, Trump told his supporters it would be “the greatest honor of my life to serve not once, but twice or three times or four times”. Later, in an interview with NBC, he seemed to walk back his convictions, saying that his message to his supporters is that “we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
The U.S. Constitution is clear on the explicit term limits established for presidents, according to legal experts.
“No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice, and no person who has held the office of president, or acted as president, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected president shall be elected to the office of the president more than once,” the 22nd Amendment says.
To alter the Constitution, Trump would require two-thirds backing from both the Senate and House, plus endorsement from three-quarters of state-level governments, according to the BBC.
Nevertheless, Trump and numerous appointees have shown a confrontational stance towards constitutional boundaries and their official roles. Trump has repeatedly turned to the Supreme Court to secure legal wins, taking cases against him to America’s top court, where he can largely count on its conservative majority to rule in his favour.
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