‘He’s gonna get a third term’: Bannon says Trump could eye 2028 presidency, teases possible plan

Trump’s potential third-term strategy

Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and loyal supporter of  President Donald Trump, claimed on Thursday that several members of Trump’s inner circle are seriously considering a third term for the president and that there is a “plan” in place to achieve it.

In an interview with The Economist, Bannon, who was a key figure in Trump’s first administration and a prominent figure in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, asserted, “He’s gonna get a third term. Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people just sort of [need to] get accommodated with that.” When asked about the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits anyone from being elected president more than twice, Bannon said there are numerous “different alternatives” and that a plan would be outlined at the appropriate time, without providing further specifics.

Bannon further argued that the United States “needs Trump,” claiming that the odds of success were longer in 2016 and 2024 than they would be in 2028. “We have to finish what we started,” he said. Praising Trump as a “vehicle of divine providence,” Bannon described the president as an instrument of divine will, adding, “You could tell this by how he’s been able to pull this off,” while acknowledging that Trump is imperfect and not particularly religious.

Bannon also highlighted Trump’s ability to navigate international relations, noting that the president had to make several compromises with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he described as “nothing but a series of negotiations,” with Trump constantly making “trade-offs.”

Earlier this year, Trump himself hinted at the possibility of a third term. In March, shortly after beginning his second term, he told Fox News, “People are asking me to run, and there’s a whole story about running for a third term. I don’t know, I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that.” He clarified that he had not explored any legal avenues for pursuing another term.

Under the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, no person may be elected president more than twice—a rule enacted following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four-term presidency. The amendment allows one exception: if a vice-president assumes office with less than two years remaining in the predecessor’s term, they may still run for two full terms, allowing a maximum tenure of ten years.

The only way Trump could legally seek a third term would be through the repeal of the 22nd Amendment, which would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, followed by ratification from three-fourths of state legislatures—a highly unlikely scenario.