• President Trump said Wednesday “it’s pretty clear” he cannot run for a third term despite previously teasing the possibility.
• The 22nd Amendment explicitly prohibits presidents from being elected more than twice, limiting Trump to his current term.
• House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he sees no path for Trump to pursue another White House bid.

GYEONGJU, South Korea (TDR) — President Donald Trump appeared to accept Wednesday that he cannot seek a third term in office, acknowledging constitutional restrictions after months of publicly musing about remaining in the White House beyond January 2029. The admission came aboard Air Force One as the president traveled from Japan to South Korea for diplomatic meetings.

Constitutional reality sets in

“I have my highest poll numbers that I’ve ever had, and you know, based on what I read, I guess I’m not allowed to run. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “I would say that if you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad, but we have a lot of great people.” The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution establishes that no person shall be elected president more than twice. Trump, who served his first term from 2017 to 2021 and began his second in January 2025, has repeatedly raised the prospect of seeking another term despite this explicit prohibition.

Recent third-term speculation

Just days earlier on Monday, Trump told reporters he would “love to do it” when asked about a potential 2028 bid. The president has spoken about running for a third term at least a half dozen times during the first nine months of his second term. Red hats emblazoned with “Trump 2028” have appeared in the Oval Office and are distributed as souvenir keepsakes to lawmakers and White House visitors. Former campaign chief Steve Bannon recently claimed in an interview that there’s a “plan” to keep Trump in office, though he provided no details about how such a scenario could legally unfold.

Speaker weighs in on impossibility

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House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed the third-term speculation Tuesday during a Capitol Hill press conference, saying he doesn’t “see the path” for Trump to pursue another White House run. “It’s been a great run, but I think the president knows, and he and I have talked about, the constrictions of the Constitution, as much as so many of the American people lament that,” Johnson said. The Republican leader explained that amending the Constitution to allow Trump another term would require approval from two-thirds of the House and three-fourths of state legislatures, a process typically taking about 10 years. “I don’t see a path for that, but I can tell you that we are not going to take our foot off the gas pedal,” Johnson added.

Looking ahead to 2028

Trump praised potential Republican candidates for 2028, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. “All I can tell you is that we have a great group of people,” Trump said. Vance revealed Wednesday on the “Pod Force One with Miranda Devine” podcast that Trump floated the idea of a Rubio–Vance ticket during a private lunch about six months ago. A popular theory among Trump supporters suggests Vance could run for president in 2028 with Trump as his running mate, though Trump dismissed this scenario as “too cute” and said “the people wouldn’t like that.”

Critics remain wary

The president’s months-long flirtation with the idea of a third term has alarmed constitutional scholars and critics who view the speculation as undermining democratic norms. While Trump‘s Wednesday comments suggest acceptance of constitutional limits, his equivocal phrasing “we’ll see what happens” leaves some observers uncertain about whether the topic is truly closed.

Will Trump’s acknowledgment end speculation about a third term, or will the topic resurface as 2028 approaches?

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