You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
President Trump’s comments are designed to divert attention from various controversies and to keep potential successors at bay, preventing them from overshadowing a president in a waning phase of his term.
While President Trump is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, this hasn’t stopped him from entertaining the notion publicly and privately. Recently, he stated in an NBC News interview that he was “not joking” about it and claimed there are “methods” to bypass the two-term limit established by the 22nd Amendment.
Though Trump has not elaborated on these “methods,” and there is no evidence that he is actively preparing for a third run, his comments serve a strategic political purpose.
These remarks effectively shift focus away from other pressing issues, such as the leaked Signal message thread that included a journalist in a conversation among his top advisers regarding an upcoming military operation. Additionally, they keep potential successors from gaining traction and overshadowing a president who might feel increasingly irrelevant as his term winds down.
“It reads like somebody who doesn’t want to be treated like a lame duck and is throwing it out there right now,” noted Derek T. Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame and an expert in election law. “It’s really hard to be a lame duck president or to be treated that way, and people are talking to you like your term’s already over.”
Earlier this year, Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, a Republican, even suggested a far-fetched constitutional amendment to allow Trump a third term.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
