Donald Trump’s suggestion that there are “methods” by which he could run for a third term as US president has been met with scorn – but also warnings that he could seriously attempt it, despite being explicitly barred from doing so by the US constitution,
The Guardian reports.
“The biggest mistake of the last eight years is that we somehow failed to give credibility to Donald Trump’s whims and impulses, but we know it’s true,” David Jolly, a former Republican member of Congress, told MSNBC.
“January 6 was a perfect example. If he says he’s not ruling it out, then he’s not ruling it out, and we should consider it a constitutional threat.”
On Sunday Trump was asked on NBC’s Meet the Press about if there were plans for him to stay on in a third term as president. “Well, there are plans,” Trump said. “There are – not plans. There are methods – there are methods which you could do it, as you know.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump added.
The 22nd amendment of the constitution states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”
Trump has previously suggested that he might serve a third term as president, and recently referred to himself as a “king”.
John Dean, an attorney who served as counsel to former president Richard Nixon, said that debate over whether a US president can run for a third term is not new, citing a kind of “loophole” that some Trump backers have suggested using – namely, a term-limited president becoming a vice-presidential candidate, and then assuming the top job if the new president steps aside once elected.
“A lot of people thought [Barack] Obama should go for another term, he didn’t,” Dean told CNN. “He read the constitution and said ‘I’m not for end runs’.”
