Before Donald Trump had even secured a second term as U.S. president, his attorney was already examining ways he might serve a third—a move prohibited by the Constitution.
Boris Epshteyn, a longtime adviser to Trump, told an associate during a meeting in October 2023 that he was sure he could find ways to ensure that his client could legally run for office again in 2028, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing the individual whom he met with.
The associate said they initially took Epshteyn’s remarks with a pinch of salt but said they were growing increasingly alarmed as Trump has publicly played with the idea of serving a third term—despite the Constitution’s term limits.
Trump is unable to legally run for a third presidential term under the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits presidents to two elected terms. Trump will be 82 when his current term ends in January 2029.
Trump has teased that there are “methods” to circumvent the amendment. He said Sunday he is “not joking” about serving another term, telling NBC News’s Kristen Welker that “a lot of people would like me” to secure a third term.
Amending the Constitution would require two-thirds of Congress to pass a proposal. Three-fourths of states must then ratify the change.
“A lot of people want me to do it,“ Trump told Welker. “But we have—my thinking is, we have a long way to go. I’m focused on the current.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s inner circle is uncertain whether the president is genuinely considering a third term or simply trolling the media. Some speculate his rhetoric is a deliberate distraction from his administration’s Signal leak fiasco, where a journalist was mistakenly added to a group chat containing sensitive information about planned attacks.
Meanwhile, some senior Republicans said they believe Trump is serious about a third term. “The fact that Epshteyn has discussed the matter with others shows that some of Trump’s closest advisers have also explored the idea,” the newspaper reported.
