Donald Trump Has an Unlikely Legal Path to a Third Term: What Experts Say

President Donald Trump's supporters are floating the possibility that he could see a third term in the Oval Office, but legal analysts say that the path for that scenario is narrow.

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.

Why It Matters

A third Trump term would be unprecedented in modern politics. The last president to serve more than two terms was Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945. His four-term run led to the passage of the 22nd Amendment, which mandates that a president can only serve two terms.

An attempt at extending his tenure in the White House could create a constitutional crisis, as critics warned on the campaign trail he could rule as an authoritarian if he returned to the White House.

What To Know

Trump has made several comments about a potential third term, and his ally Steve Bannon this week predicted he would run again in 2028, though Trump has not officially said he would do so.

The 22nd Amendment reads: "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."

This leaves open two potential legal avenues for Trump to stay in the White House after his current term ends, but they both pose significant challenges, legal analysts told Newsweek.

First, Trump could try to repeal the 22nd Amendment, which would make it legal for a president to run for a third term.

But the political realities in the U.S. make that highly unlikely, former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi told Newsweek on Thursday.

Repealing an amendment would require a constitutional convention and support from three-quarters of all states—meaning Trump would need support from solidly Democratic states to repeal the amendment, which is just not likely, Rossi said.

"Practically, a snowball in hell has a better chance of survival than the passage of the repeal of the 22nd Amendment," he said. "It will not happen."

Trump, in an April 2024 interview with Time magazine, said he would not be in favor of changing the 22nd Amendment.

"I wouldn't be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to put it back on the right track," he said.

Some Republicans have said they support repealing the amendment. In January, Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee introduced a joint resolution that would allow a president to be elected for up to two terms, so long as they have not already served two consecutive terms—meaning it wouldn't apply to former President Barack Obama and others who won a second term.

Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, introduced a resolution that would reaffirm the 22nd Amendment.

The other legal technicality that could allow Trump to return to the White House is if he runs as a vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket, and the top of the ticket resigns after the inauguration in January 2029.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that this is the only legal way for Trump to return to the White House.

"Aside from the potential vice president loophole, there is no legal path for Trump to run for a third term," he said. "Politically, he doesn't have the votes to repeal the 22nd Amendment, either in Congress or the states."

Carl Tobias, law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, told Newsweek that the argument in favor of this path is "not very persuasive and judges may reject it."

Rossi said it is also possible that Trump could simply refuse to leave at the end of his term, and that the courts would have to intervene.

"Given President Trump's huge ego, his felony proclivities and the controversial presidential immunity opinion, where the Supreme Court left Congress and the Justice Department flapping on the beach like a spawning fish, the Trump sky is the proverbial limit when it comes to that scenario," he said.

Rahmani said he believes the Supreme Court would uphold the ban on a third term.

"Failing to do so would trigger a constitutional crisis and throw the country into chaos," he said. "Of course, Trump hasn't been shy about pushing or even ignoring legal boundaries. But there is no legal way for him to do so when it comes to a third term."

What People Are Saying

Former federal prosecutor Shanlon Wu, to Newsweek: "It's worrisome because it shows how much his supporters embrace the strong man image which is bad for democratic principles but it's also not surprising that either he or his supporters float the idea."

Bannon, speaking to NewsNation's Chris Cuomo on Tuesday: "I'm a firm believer that President Trump will run and win again in 2028, so I've already endorsed President Trump. A man like this comes along once every century. If we're lucky, we've got him now. He's on fire, and I'm a huge supporter. I want to see him again in 2028."

Goldman previously told Newsweek: "By now, Donald Trump's pattern is predictable: 'joke' about something unconstitutional or authoritarian; normalize the 'joke'; allow sycophantic Republicans to adopt the 'joke' as a serious idea until it becomes MAGA orthodoxy."

What Happens Next

An amendment to the Constitution to allow Trump to run again is unlikely to be approved by Congress.