Trump Says It Would Be ‘Very Hard’ to Run for Third Term

In a new interview, the president was asked about whether he had asked the Department of Justice to probe the legality of running for another term.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House upon returning from Pope Francis's funeral and a stop at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster Township, N.J., on April 27, 2025. Annabelle Gordon/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump said in a new interview that he is not looking to run for a third term and said it would be “very hard” to accomplish.

Speaking with The Atlantic in an interview published on Monday, Trump was asked about whether he had asked the Department of Justice to probe the legality of running for another term. Trump said that he has not but appeared to joke about the possibility.

“That would be a big shattering, wouldn’t it?” he said while laughing, according to The Atlantic reporters. “Well, maybe I’m just trying to shatter.”

Later in the interview, Trump said that a third term is “not something that I’m looking to do. And I think it would be a very hard thing to do.”

He was asked about whether his presidential successor would possibly engage in retribution against him.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve already gone through it,” Trump said, referring to state and federal cases that were brought against him after leaving the White House following his first term. “I got indicted five different times ... and they’re all looking for jobs now, so it’s one of those things. Who would have thought, right? It’s been pretty amazing.”

Since taking office in January, Trump has, on multiple occasions, mused that he may want to run for a third term, which would pose a legal challenge. The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

The amendment was ratified in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four consecutive terms. Roosevelt was the only president in U.S. history to be elected to more than two terms.

Trump’s comment to The Atlantic comes less than a month after he told NBC News that “a lot of people want” him to run again. ... I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”

The president, who would be 82 years old upon leaving office in January 2029, also said in that earlier interview that he is “not joking” but again stressed at the time that he is “focused on the current” term in the White House.

Pressed further by NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump said that there may be ways to be elected to a third term. He was asked about whether he could join a ticket as a vice presidential candidate who “would then pass the baton to you.”

Trump responded, without elaborating, “Well, that’s one.” Then he added, “But there are others, too. There are others.”

The Trump Organization website has been selling T-shirts and a red hat that both say, “Trump 2028.” The product description says, “The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the new Trump 2028 t-shirt.”

Republican senators on Capitol Hill have downplayed Trump’s comments about another term, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) telling reporters last month that Trump couldn’t do so “without a change in the Constitution” first.

Thune also said Trump is “probably messing” with journalists and “having fun.”

Days after Trump took office earlier this year, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) proposed an amendment to the Constitution that could allow presidents to be elected for three terms. Amending the Constitution would require two-thirds of Congress members to vote for its approval. The amendment would then have to be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures.