August 19, 2025
During an interview with Time Magazine after being questioned about the sale of “Trump 2028” hats, Trump mentioned “loopholes that have been discussed” regarding a potential third term.
During round two of meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, President Donald Trump made another dig about potentially evading his presidential term limits with “jokes” about pausing elections during wartime.
During the sit-down, Trump hinted at an attempt to jump back into the presidential ring in 2028 when Zelenskyy discussed his country’s practice of pausing elections during war, seemingly sparking an idea in the second-term leader’s mind. “So you’re saying during the war you can’t have elections,” Trump said.
“So, let me just say, three and a half years from now… if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. Oh, that’s good.”
While Trump claimed to be joking during an interview with Time Magazine after being questioned about the sale of “Trump 2028” hats, his thoughts didn’t seem to be a laughing matter, as he mentioned “there are some loopholes that have been discussed,” according to People. He failed to elaborate on the methods he would employ for a third term, but there are several options.
His campaign emphasized the importance of adhering to the Constitution; however, a more groundbreaking approach would be to amend the document through a two-thirds vote in Congress or by two-thirds of U.S. states, thereby mandating that parties convene a constitutional convention to propose these changes. Something improbable, as several state leaders despise Trump’s leadership for a second time, let alone a third time, another way is to push Vice President JD Vance as the winner of the 2028 election for a Vance-Trump ticket — and then suddenly resign.
On social media, users don’t feel that voters should take the “jokes” too lightly, one calling his thoughts “terrifying.” “Trump laughs about canceling elections like Zelensky — planting the seed for his power grab—first the joke, then the coup. We’ve seen this movie before,” @AnatoliUkraine said.
@ramonpearson6 feels Trump’s redecorating scheme should be the writing on the wall of what’s coming next. “Trump already has his 2028 hats made. He’s decorating the White House like it’s his penthouse from 1987 & building a $200M ballroom addition,” he wrote.
“He’s not planning on leaving, ever. These military deployments in Dem cities may wind up being a precursor for voter intimidation in 2026.”
Trump’s “joke” comes shortly after hinting at wanting to dump mail-in voting processes, saying he would sign an executive order to “help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.” On his Truth Social platform, he continued a rant about his longstanding opposition to mail-in voting, blaming the process for his loss to former President Joe Biden. “THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!,” Trump wrote.
But he didn’t stop there. The 47th president also wants to eliminate voting machines, labeling them as inaccurate and expensive.
RELATED CONTENT: Marc Lamont Hill Recounts 2024 Stage Attack While Upholding Restorative Justice Principles
