'Hard thing to do': US President walks back third term hint days after ‘Trump 2028’ red hats go on sale

US President Donald Trump speaks on his first 100 days at Macomb County Community College Sports Expo Center.

US President Donald Trump has attempted to walk back his recent suggestion that he may run for a third term in 2028, a move that had raised legal alarms and political eyebrows across the spectrum.

In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Trump downplayed the idea, saying “it was a hard thing to do.”

Responding to a question whether he had tasked his Justice Department with looking into the legality of running for a third term again in 2028, Trump said, “That would be a big shattering, wouldn’t it? Well, maybe I’m just trying to shatter.” He added, “It’s not something that I’m looking to do. And I think it would be a very hard thing to do.”

He, however, noted that his supporters wanted him to run for another term – an assertion he has made before as well.

Addressing a rally in Michigan on Tuesday (April 29), held to mark 100 days of his second term, Trump smiled as the crowd chanted “three”, a call for him to run for a third term as US President.

In response, Trump said: “Well, we actually already served three, if you count. But remember, I like the victories, I like the three victories which we absolutely had. I just don't like the results of the middle term.”

With this remark, Trump once again appeared to be denying the results of the 2020 presidential polls, which he lost to Joe Biden.

In an interview to NBC News in March this year, Trump had reaffirmed that he was “not joking” about his plans to run for re-election in 2028. He had also said that there were methods available to do it.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also recently shared a similar message, saying that Trump running for a third time “is not something that he is thinking of,” whilst joking that Trump 2028 hats are “flying off the shelves.”

Last week, The Trump Organization started selling red caps with the slogan “Trump 2028” — a move that appeared to reinforce speculation rather than silence it. The merchandise, priced at $50, was promoted online with the description: “The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the Trump 2028 high crown hat. Fully embroidered with a snap closure in the back, this will become your new go-to hat.”

The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1951, explicitly states: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice..."

This amendment was introduced after Franklin D. Roosevelt broke tradition and won four consecutive terms (1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944). The amendment was pushed through the US House of Representatives and Congress by Republican lawmakers in 1947 and ratified on February 27, 1951 after 36 of then then 48 US states ratified it. Since then, every president has been bound by the two-term rule. The amendment makes it clear: a third term is constitutionally prohibited.