President Donald Trump on Thursday again raised the prospect of serving for an unconstitutional third term, asking a crowd at a White House event whether he should run again and receiving audience chants of “Four more years!”
The suggestion followed a stretch of days in which Trump referred to himself as a king and quoted a dictator in suggesting that he was immune from following laws — all while his administration has
continued pushing the bounds of presidential power.
Trump’s escalating rhetoric stoked further alarm among critics who say he is governing with an authoritarian playbook and fear he could attempt to seize power undemocratically, as he attempted to do after losing the 2020 election. The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment limits presidents from holding the office more than twice.
Trump’s suggestion before attendees of a Black History Month reception came after he mentioned “the next time” in a seeming reference to running again. He then cut off his own sentence to ask the audience if he should run another time. Met by shouts of affirmation, Trump basked in the attention, laughing and waving a hand at the audience.
“There’s your controversy right there,” Trump responded, chuckling. “You’re going to see that tonight, Tim, on television,” referring to Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), who was in the audience at the reception.
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Trump marked Black History Month at the White House on Feb. 12 with golf star Tiger Woods and prominent Black republicans, amid his push to end DEI. (Video: Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)
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Hours later, former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon led an audience to chant “We want Trump!” referring to the 2028 election while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Baltimore.
“We want Trump in ’28,” Bannon said. “That’s what they can’t stand. A man like Trump comes along only once or twice in a country’s history. Right? We want Trump!”
