President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believes he has the “right to run again” for president, despite acknowledging that the Constitution appears to bar him from seeking another term.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Iowa ahead of the midterm elections, Trump raised the possibility of another presidential campaign while discussing his political standing.
“I don't know who's going to be your next president,” Trump said. “And I think the law says, I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think the law says that I'm not allowed to run again.”
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Trump then acknowledged that he had examined the restriction and found little ambiguity.
“I've studied that phrase forever,” the 80-year-old said. “Unfortunately, it's quite concise. There's not a lot of wiggle room.”
But moments later, Trump suggested he nevertheless had grounds to seek the presidency again because of his continued false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“They cheated us on the second one because we won it three times, so I think I have the right to run again. I think I have the right to run again because they cheated.”
He continued: “They rigged the election. They rigged that.”
What the Constitution Says
The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Trump was elected president in 2016 and again in 2024, meaning that another presidential election would conflict with the amendment's two-term limit.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he won the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden. There is no evidence that fraud altered the outcome of that election.
The. Republican president enters the closing stretch of the midterm campaign with his approval rating deeply underwater. He hit record-low approval ratings of 32 percent among U.S. adults with CNN/SSRS, and 36 percent among likely voters with The New York Times/Siena University poll as the midterms enter the home stretch.
Trump Has Repeatedly Teased Another Run
In August, Trump told reporters that although he would like to run again, the constitutional restriction appeared firm.
“I’d love to run, but the law is very strong,” Trump said. “Everybody wants me to do it, but the law is very strong.”
The comments followed months of Trump publicly entertaining another campaign. During the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in July, he donned a red “Trump 2028” hat and told the audience: “I won three times. Now, I’m going to do it again.”
Trump has also shared “Trump 2028” imagery on social media, while his allies have periodically discussed potential ways he could remain in power beyond the end of his current term. At other moments, however, Trump has spoken about leaving the White House in January 2029 and watching his successor from home.
His latest remarks in Iowa went further by offering a specific justification for why he believes he should be permitted to run again.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins