Trump Says He Won’t Seek Third Term, Citing US Constitution

President Donald Trump, who is currently in Asia, said on Oct. 29 that he wouldn’t run for a third term, stating that it’s barred by the U.S. Constitution.

“If you read it, it’s pretty clear—I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to South Korea from Japan.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Oct. 28 that there’s no way to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Trump to run for a third presidential term because the nation’s founding document requires a lengthy ratification process.

Johnson said Trump, whose term ends in January 2029, has no plans to change term limits, despite the president in the past teasing a 2028 run.

Johnson did say he had discussed the U.S. Constitution’s constraints with Trump during his trip in Asia, where he has been since Oct. 26. The speaker also said there were no plans to amend the 22nd Amendment before 2028. The amendment aims to prevent future indefinite presidencies, following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four-term presidency.

“It’s been a great run,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “But I think the president knows, and he and I have talked about, the constrictions of the Constitution.”

Johnson pointed to the amendment process inscribed in Article V of the Constitution, requiring approval by two-thirds of both the House and Senate, and then ratification by three-fourths—or 38—of the 50 U.S. states.

“I don’t see the path for that,” he said.

The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits presidents to serving two elected terms.

“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” reads the official text from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Trump, 79, has sold “Trump 2028” merchandise at his rallies, although Johnson has said that was meant for “trolling Democrats.” Trump would be 82 in 2028, and if he won, he would take Joe Biden’s spot as the oldest president to hold office.

Trump has noted that potential 2028 Republican candidates are great people.

A 2023 Congressional Research Service report highlights that of 33 amendments proposed by Congress since 1789, 27 were ratified. It took an average of two years to create an amendment. The 27th Amendment on congressional pay took more than 200 years to be ratified. The report notes that controversial changes, such as altering term limits, are more difficult to pass because of the state approval requirement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.