Donald Trump is well known for firing off unconfirmed and unfounded statements on just about any topic, from fighting COVID with aquarium cleaner to his plans for conquering Greenland.
Since his re-installment in the oval office last year he has continued to claim the 2020 election was stolen from him and has even talked about finding a workaround so that he could run for a third term in 2028
But would that be a bad thing? If such a key loophole was discovered or some kind of work around legalease was put into place, wouldn’t that potentially be just as advantageous for both parties? If Trump decided to run again, why couldn’t President Barack Obama run for a third term, as well?
Only one president in American history has served more than two terms. That was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served as the 32nd President of the United States from March 4, 1933, to April 12, 1945.
It was his four terms in office that inspired the 22nd amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1951. This amendment explicitly prohibits any person from being elected to the office of president more than twice.
Verbatim: “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.”
Yet, Trump seems to be onboard for another run if he can successfully uncover a legal loophole or convince Congress to modify the 22nd amendment, which seems unlikely.
Interestingly enough, it’s a topic that is coming up in conversation beyond the Trump administration.
Says Trump about running for a third term: “I’m not joking,” he told NBC News in reference to exploring methods for the possibility. Although he acknowledges that it could be difficult. “There are methods which you could do it,” he said.
In fact, Representative Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, introduced House Joint Resolution 29 in early 2025 to amend the Constitution to allow Trump to be elected to another term. It was, however referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary the same month and has remained there since.
President Obama has vaguely addressed the thought of running for a third term in very roundabout ways, but has acknowledged that the 22nd amendment would preclude him from such an opportunity.
Regardless, in an interview with David Axelrod that included discussion about a hypothetical win in 2016, Obama expressed confidence that his vision of Hope and Change still held majority support.
President Obama’s positive impact on the LGBTQ+ community
During his time in office, President Obama achieved significant LGBTQ+ milestones, including repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” signing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, enforcing workplace protections for federal employees and appointing the first transgender White House staff member. His administration also ceased support for the Defense of Marriage Act, which paved the way for Marriage Equality.
Why is this topic in the news again?
A video posted by the Obama foundation, which has sparked online speculation over a possible future “political announcement.”
The clip was posted to X/Twitter on March 15. In it Obama is sound being distracted by mobile phone calls over and again before announcing he has “unfinished business.”
That comment prompted many to speculate about a potential 2028 presidential run for Obama, in the event it was made possible through some yet to be determined legal means or an amendment to the amendment.
On March 17, the Obama foundation released a vague response through a follow-up video, which shows the earlier clip was part of a “light-hearted sports promotion” to promote the upcoming Obama Presidential Center. While any definitive clarity has yet to appear, two things remain certain: Obama’s favorability rating is 59 percent, while Trump’s approval rating is approximately 36 percent. And although such a match remains unlikely, a 2028 hypothetical matchup poll showed Obama leading with 44 percent, compared to Trump’s 33 percent.