The room laughed at the joke, but the premise didn’t land the same for people who still believe the U.S. Constitution means what it says.
In the past few weeks, President Donald Trump publicly floated the idea of remaining in office far beyond the legal two-term limit, first during a small-business summit on May 4 and again on Wednesday during a commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The crowd laughed each time.
Earlier this month, while discussing tax provisions, Trump casually veered from policy to speculation about his own political future.
“And this way when I get out of office in, let’s say, eight or nine years from now, I’ll be able to use it. I’ll be able to use it myself,” Trump said as the audience cheered and laughed.
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On Wednesday, Trump doubled down again while discussing a U.S. agreement with Finland to purchase new icebreakers for Arctic operations.
“I said, ‘I’m going to be here in ’28. Maybe I’ll be here in ’32, too. I don’t know,’” Trump told graduating Coast Guard cadets Wednesday. “Maybe I will, but I’m going to be here in ’28.”
For critics, the repeated comments no longer sounded like random throwaway lines from a president known for riffing. Instead, they landed in a familiar gray zone Trump has operated in for years, part joke, part threat, part loyalty test to see how much the public will normalize if he repeats it enough times.
The Constitution leaves little ambiguity on the issue. The 22nd Amendment explicitly states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
But Trump has repeatedly flirted with the idea that the rule could somehow be bypassed.
In a 2025 interview with NBC News, Trump openly insisted he was “not joking” about potentially pursuing a third term.
“There are methods which you could do it,” he said.
His political operation has leaned into the idea as well. “Trump 2028” hats are currently being sold online with the slogan: “Rewrite the rules.”
The remarks also arrive as Trump, who turns 80 on June 14, continues trying to project strength while dismissing questions about his own health. Though rumors about physical decline have followed him for months — including recurring public appearances showing bruising on his hands — Trump continues insisting he is healthier than former President Barack Obama and frequently attacks former President Joe Biden over mental sharpness.
But what escalated the controversy beyond internet outrage was what happened during a Senate hearing involving one of Trump’s judicial nominees.
John George Edward Marck, Trump’s pick for a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, refused to directly affirm that a president cannot legally serve a third term.
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Sen. Chris Coons pressed Marck on whether Trump could constitutionally run again after two elected terms.
Rather than simply cite the Constitution, Marck responded that he would need to “review the facts” before reaching a conclusion.
That answer immediately triggered alarm online, where critics argued the exchange revealed how Trump’s rhetoric is beginning to bleed into the legal system itself.
“Ask him if Obama can run for a third time. See how fast they’ll answer without deflecting,” one commenter wrote.
“Apparently he is not familiar with the Constitution. Automatic disqualification,” another said.
“If you can’t answer that, you have no business being a federal judge,” someone else added.
Others warned that Trump’s repeated “jokes” about remaining in power stop being funny when the people he installs into the judiciary suddenly seem unwilling to acknowledge basic constitutional limits.
Online reaction to Trump’s own comments ranged from mockery to outright fear.
“I don’t appreciate the implication that he’ll live 8 or 9 more years,” one person quipped.
Another wrote: “People need to realize he’s not kidding. And every time someone says, ‘he can’t do that,’ just think about how many times we’ve already said, ‘he can’t do that,’ and he does exactly that.”
“Trump’s Judicial nominees being unable — or unwilling — to plainly say a president can’t serve a third term should set off alarms for everyone,” another warned.
Former Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene warned Thursday that Trump’s repeated jokes about staying in power should be taken seriously, and his rumination on a plot. Greene made the comments while speaking on Alex Jones’ Infowars. She first recalled Trump previously joking about halting elections while the country is at war.
“That’s what psychos do. Others. Their humor is them actually flaunting it and telling you,” Jones said.
“That type of behavior is someone playing an idea over and over again,” Greene said. “He constantly says it so that he can normalize the idea and test the support, test people’s reactions by saying over and over again.”
“I think it’s incredibly dangerous, and no one should ever accept it,” she added.
