President Donald Trump’s latest push to rebrand the White House has critics and much of the internet convinced he’s laying the groundwork to seek a third term — or at least to leave behind a monument to himself.
If the rebrand wasn’t enough, several lawmakers in the last week have explicitly teased a third term and now critics, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom are urging the public to wake up, as Trump may make this a reality.
This week’s additions — a mockup sign reading “The Presidential Walk of Fame” in a golden font and a donor pledge for “The Donald J. Trump Ballroom at the White House,” among other moves — set off a fresh wave of ridicule and alarm that Trump has no plans to vacate the building.
The mockup sign was installed along the West Colonnade on Sept. 21, shortly after Trump began promoting what he called a “Presidential Walk of Fame” — an idea he described this summer as a gallery of presidential portraits — a display he has said would include trolling nods to his predecessors.
Previously, Trump said the display would include digs at the 46th president — noting that for Joe Biden, “We put up a picture of the autopen.”
That image was in fact displayed instead of a Biden portrait, with many critics calling Trump petty for personalizing the gallery as a vehicle for mocking his successor rather than honoring the office.
One reader, Effie, laid out a scary scenario of how Trump could make his move.
“Trump doesn’t plan on leaving which is why he feels comfortable doing these things to the White House. Just watch: at some point he’ll declare a national emergency, deploy troops everywhere and suspend elections. Or he’ll have the Supreme Court override the Constitution and say he can run for a third term which he’ll magically “win”.”
The new signage, set in the walkway adjacent to the Rose Garden that connects the Executive Residence and the West Wing, was widely mocked as tacky and self-serving.
“Disgusting. He is a temporary guest; this is not his house but the People’s hours unless he knows something we don’t. Is he really going to unleash the National Guard onto American citizens? Will they follow?,” one person wrote.
Patrick added on MSN, “Many of these changes are against what the Pres. can do to the WH, they are against standing rules of what a pres. can & cannot do . It’s not his personal home, not permanent & it’s temporary.”
The moves by Trump have also sharpened concerns about Republican officials who appear to be encouraging Trump to flout constitutional limits. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham publicly floated the idea of Trump running again in 2028, despite the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit.
“Trump 2028. I hope this never ends,” Graham said on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s program, praising Trump’s performance at the United Nations this week and urging him to remain politically ascendant.
Critics were outraged.
“Sen. Graham is one of the most unbalanced individuals in our Congress today. How he can even hint at this 3rd term idea is representative of Congress shirking its duties,” one commenter wrote.
When CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Sen. John Thune whether he could “say definitively, as the Senate Majority Leader, you do not believe constitutionally that President Trump or any president could have a third term?” Thune did not give a categorical no.
“It’s so sh-tty the Senate Leader can’t just say, ‘no.’ The fear from these ppl is embarrassing,” a viewer responded online, echoing others.
“They’re planting the seeds for a third term. This entire time they fought against gun control because of the constitution. We’re so cooked. What’s the f-cking point at this point?” another commenter demanded.
In light of lawmakers’ confusion about their duties to the people, no one sounded the alarm clearer than Newsom when he visited Stephen Colbert’s show earlier this week.
“I fear that we will not have an election in 2028. I really mean that in the core of my soul, unless we wake up to the code red happening in this country, and we wake up soberly to how serious this moment is.”
If Trump does plan to stick around for a third term, some readers have their own plan to counter it.
“At least blue states will be able to take his name off the ballot legally per the articles of the constitution. Unless the Supreme Court just comes out and declares him King, which I wouldn’t put it past them since they’ve betrayed the constitution in multiple ways so far,” one post warned.
Others turned to the prospect of bringing back President Barack Obama, who served two terms in the White House.
“If Trump can run a third term, so can Obama. Careful what you wish for MAGA.”
At least one person tagged Obama on the post to make sure he was paying attention.
“Oh I’m good with that @BarackObama if that’s the case I ask u to put your hat in the race AND WHOOP THIS MFER,” he said.
For now the signage remains a cosmetic change; the ballroom project appears years away from completion. But the images of gilded text on public grounds, the president’s repeated boasts about honoring himself, and Republican lawmakers’ open talk of a third term have combined into a political spectacle that critics say signals a deeper intent.
