President Donald Trump riled up leftists again on Monday when he addressed rumors about a potential run for a third term in 2028.

While traveling to Japan on Air Force One, Trump told reporters that he hasn’t “really thought about” running for a third term, but then added, “I would love to do it.”

Trump suggested that the GOP didn’t need him to run to win the next presidential election and was complimentary of Republicans under him who could take the mantle. He name-dropped Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, even saying that Rubio and Vance would be “unstoppable” if they joined forces. Trump, however, appeared to leave the door open for another White House run.

“I would love to do it. I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had,” the president added. “I mean, I just solved eight wars, and a ninth is coming. I believe Russia-Ukraine will happen.”

Speaking with reporters on board Air Force One en route to Japan on Monday, President Trump again refused to rule out a bid for a third presidential term, despite the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to being elected twice.

Read more: https://t.co/Ya2ePJ8PGo pic.twitter.com/5yReOrVuWg

— ABC News (@ABC) October 27, 2025

A potential third term came up when a reporter asked Trump about comments made last week by the president’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, who said that Trump would serve a third term in the White House. Bannon, who is not serving in the current administration, said that “there is a plan” to allow Trump to run again.

“Trump is going to be president in 2028, and people just ought to get accommodated with that,” Bannon told The Economist, adding, “We need him for at least one more term, and he’ll get that in 2028.”

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On Monday, Trump ruled out one theory of how he could obtain a third term, saying that running as Vance’s vice president in 2028 and then having Vance step down would “be allowed,” but added that it would be “too cute.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I think it’s too cute. Yeah, I would rule that out,” he said. “I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute. It wouldn’t be right.”

Multiple leftist political commentators and legacy media hosts latched onto Trump’s and Bannon’s remarks, with one commentator even calling them a “threat,” rhetoric similar to what progressives have been using more regularly to describe the Trump administration and Republicans. After Trump’s third-term remarks, CNN host Brianna Keilar interviewed presidential historian and author Alexis Coe, who said that the talk about a third term for Trump “should be viewed as a threat.” Coe also suggested that by the 250th birthday of the United States next summer, it could “no longer” be a constitutional republic.

NEW: CNN is very concerned about President Trump’s jokes about running for a third term, says the comments should be seen as a “threat.”

This is coming from the same people who had no problem with Kamala Harris being handed the nomination without a single vote.

“We should view… pic.twitter.com/bhp9Dezgzi

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 27, 2025

Cenk Uyghur, host of The Young Turks, wrote on X that Trump’s comments on Monday prove the point of “No Kings” protesters who gathered in cities nationwide earlier this month to protest the Trump administration’s actions.

“Trump said he hasn’t ruled out a third term. Good news, the constitution already ruled it out for him,” Uyghur said. “And you wonder why people have No Kings protests. Really, it’s hard to figure out?”

The hosts of ABC’s “The View” also chimed in, with Sunny Hostin saying, “I have come to the conclusion that he is most definitely going to try to remain in power.” She then brought up Trump’s White House East Wing construction, arguing that the president “is hooking up the White House because he doesn’t plan on leaving it.”

“I told you all that years ago,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said. “That he was not going anywhere. He said it. He said, ‘I want to be president for life.'”

‘The View’ Goes Full-Tilt: Leftist Hosts Spread Conspiracy Theory Trump Wants to Remain in Power

The View ladies are back spreading a wild conspiracy theory that Trump wants a THIRD TERM in office… all because he is doing renovations at the White House. No, Seriously.

“Did… pic.twitter.com/wTvQ9kJa3s

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) October 27, 2025

Third-term rumors have been swirling again among many on the Left amid Trump’s East Wing demolition and plans for a White House ballroom. Trump’s critics argue that no president would make such drastic changes to the White House if he planned on leaving it. Whether Trump is trolling leftists who make these arguments with his remarks on a third term remains unclear, but if he is, it’s working.

Trump, who would turn 82 before the 2028 presidential election, has brought up serving more than two terms multiple times and has given mixed signals on where he stands on the possibility. The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, shortly after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to four consecutive terms before he died in office in 1945.

After saying in April that “there are methods” that would allow him to run again, he told NBC’s Kristen Welker in May, “This is not something I’m looking to do.”

“I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward,” he added.

The California Department of Social Services is texting residents, blaming the imminent lapse of food stamp benefits on President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

The Daily Wire reviewed several screenshots of the message, which stated that “President Trump & Congress failed to reopen federal government. Nov. CalFresh benefits will be delayed. Oct. benefits unaffected. Visit cdss.ca.gov.” The message is similar to one posted on their website.

It is unclear whether the messages were sent only to Californians who receive food stamps or to a wider swath of the electorate. When The Daily Wire reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for comment to confirm the authenticity of the texts, they replied, “Seriously?” and pointed the finger at Trump for supposedly politicizing the shutdown.

California Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio told The Daily Wire in a phone interview that the texts are “outrageous.”

“It’s a pack of lies — offering propaganda in the middle of an election so that politicos can avoid the accountability for their failures,” DeMaio said, referencing the upcoming vote on Proposition 50, which would gerrymander California congressional districts more in favor of Democrats. “This is as outrageous as you can get when it comes to taxpayer money being used to promote lies to try to impact the outcome of a pending election.”

When pressed on the issue, Newsom’s office then directed The Daily Wire to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service webpage, appearing to suggest both sides were engaging in partisan messaging. The USDA website banner reads “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry.”

“At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” the USDA message continues.

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“Every American must have affordable healthcare, and that’s why I’m fighting in Washington, D.C., even if it means shutting this government down,” Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) said in a recent commercial through his official office, the New York Times reported.

As for California, Republicans blasted the message sent out to residents, including Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), who said Newsom “continues to peddle misinformation for partisan gain, now using official channels.”

“It is exactly this kind of excessive partisanship that has caused this shutdown that is having terrible consequences for millions of Americans. Unfortunately, those consequences are worse in California than anywhere, as our state leads the nation in poverty and unemployment,” Kiley told The Daily Wire in a statement.

“I voted to avoid a shutdown and have always done so during both the Biden and Trump administrations. We need to get the government back open immediately,” the congressman continues.