Trump Now Admits ‘the Law Is Very Strong’ When It Comes to White House Term Limits

Niya DoyleThu, August 13, 2026 at 9:45 PM UTC

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President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Aug. 10, 2026Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty -

President Donald Trump has frequently talked about running for a third term, though he’s now acknowledging the firm legal barriers

The former president has previously suggested that there could be ways to bypass the 22nd Amendment

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected four times, was the only U.S. president to break tradition and serve more than two terms, though his 12-year command of the Oval Office is what motivated Congress to formally establish term limits

President Donald Trump told reporters outside Air Force One on Wednesday, Aug. 12, that he “would love to run” for a third term, but ultimately conceded that “the law is very strong” about barring it.

The 80-year-old president has repeatedly proposed the idea of serving a third term, sometimes in jest, including on July 24 at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“I won three times now I’m going to do it again,” the president said sarcastically at the dinner as he placed a red “Trump 2028” hat on his head, the likes of which he has been selling for more than $50.

President Donald Trump at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C.Credit: Eric Lee/Getty

Third presidential terms are illegal under the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Prior to the amendment being ratified in 1951, U.S. presidents had capped their tenure at two presidential terms — or eight years — out of respect for the tradition that George Washington started to prevent the fledgling democracy from taking the form of a monarchy.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was only president to serve more than two presidential terms, holding the executive office for 12 years from 1933 to 1945 because of the circumstances of the Great Depression and World War II. He died at the start of his fourth term, and the 22nd Amendment was drafted soon after.

Prior to Trump’s Aug. 12 statement, he had openly flirted with the idea that the two-term limit might be flexible. He said “loopholes” had been discussed within his administration, and a Republican lawmaker even proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would enable Trump to run for a third term.

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Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, predicted in 2025 that Trump’s team would find a way to keep him in the Oval Office beyond the next election.

“He’s gonna get a third term,” Bannon said in an interview last October. “Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people just sort of [need to] get accommodated with that.”

When asked about the 22nd Amendment, Bannon claimed there’s a plan in place to work around it. “There’s many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is, but there’s a plan,” he said.

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Privately, Trump has reportedly been weighing whether Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be the strongest successor to his Make America Great Again movement.

A recent report from The Washington Post suggested that he was beginning to lean toward backing Vance’s candidacy in 2028, allegedly telling advisers in July that “we need to elect JD.”

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Source: “AOL Breaking”