Trump Says He Has 'Right' to Seek a Third Term, Then Admits the Law Says Otherwise

Trump Says He Has 'Right' to Seek a Third Term, Then Admits the Law Says Otherwise

A familiar tease, aired again in Sioux City

President Donald Trump told supporters in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday night that he believes he has "the right to run again" for president, reviving a claim he has floated repeatedly despite a constitutional bar on third terms. Speaking inside an airport hangar at Sioux Gateway Airport at a midterm rally, he said: "I don't know who's going to be your next president, 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." The crowd booed at the mention of the ban.

Old grievance as justification: 'they cheated'

Trump then invoked his long-running, unproven claims about the 2020 election, arguing the restriction should not apply to him. "They cheated us on the second one because we won it three times. So I think I have the right to run again," he said, repeating the line twice to applause. He added that a recent poll showed he would "kill everybody, I'd beat 'em" in a hypothetical matchup, without identifying the survey.

'Not a lot of wiggle room' in the 22nd Amendment

Trump acknowledged he had studied the constitutional text closely. "I've studied that phrase forever. Unfortunately, it's quite concise. There's not a lot of wiggle room," he said, paraphrasing the 22nd Amendment, which bars any person from being elected president more than twice. The remarks echoed his August comments to reporters that he would love to run again but "the law is very strong." In July he wore a red "Trump 2028" hat to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and told the audience: "I won three times. Now, I'm going to do it again."

A midterm mission behind the third-term talk

The stated purpose of the trip was boosting Republicans ahead of November's midterms. Trump appeared alongside Representative Ashley Hinson, who is running for the Senate against Democrat Josh Turek in a race described as tied in recent polling. Trump urged the crowd to turn out: "Pretend I'm on the ballot, because if you get out, we're going to win big." It was his first Iowa trip since January, when he rallied in Clive, and he is scheduled to return to the state on November 1 for a rally in Dubuque. He has carried Iowa in three straight general elections, including a 13-point win over Kamala Harris in 2024.

The constitutional wall: elected twice, barred a third time

Trump, 80, won the White House in 2016, lost in 2020, and won again in 2024, with his non-consecutive second term expiring at noon on January 20, 2029. The 22nd Amendment's two-election limit makes him ineligible for 2028, a point legal scholars treat as settled. An amendment to allow a third term, introduced as H.J.Res. 29 in January 2025, has not advanced out of committee, and amending the Constitution would require ratification by 38 states.

Trial balloon or turnout tool

American media coverage treated the episode as part tease, part turnout tactic: the third-term line reliably excites rally crowds while dominating a news cycle that might otherwise focus on tariffs, fuel prices, and tight down-ballot races. Hinson herself has combined an embrace of Trump's visit with calls for an "immediate end" to the war straining Iowans' fuel and grocery budgets. Who leads Republicans into 2028 remains unanswered — by Trump included.