Donald Trump will 'have to think' about running for a third term as president in 2028
Donald Trump has said he will “have to think” about running for a third term as president despite the move being banned under the US constitution.
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The 78-year-old gave the latest indication over whether he will run in a fourth election while speaking to US service members stationed in Qatar.
It comes less than two weeks after he told NBC he was not considering a third presidential term, following his triumphs in 2016 and 2024.
But speaking to troops in Doha, Trump said: “Some people want us to do a fourth, I don’t know. [I’ll] have to think about that.”
Trump would be prevented from running again by the Constitution's 22nd Amendment, which says that "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice".
Changing the Constitution would require a two-thirds approval from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as approval from three-quarters of the country's state-level governments.
Democrats have called for clarification that the Amendment explicitly forbids a third term in office.
Trump is visiting the Middle East in a bid to improve relations in the region and sign a series of economic agreements.
After arriving in Qatar on Wednesday, the president signed a series of deals with the country following a meeting with the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad al-Thani.
Read more: Donald Trump signs billion dollar deals on aviation and defence with Qatar on Middle East tour
Trump’s latest comments hinting at an attempt at a third term come following an interview with NBC less than two weeks ago in which he said it “is not something I'm looking to do".
“I'll be an eight-year president, I'll be a two-term president. I always thought that was very important," Trump told NBC's Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.
He had previously said that he was "not joking" about wanting to serve a third term but later said his statements were meant to troll the "fake news media".
The president said he had "requests" from “so many people” asking that he consider the move.
"It's something that, to the best of my knowledge, you're not allowed to do. I don't know if that's constitutional, that they're not allowing you to do it or anything else.
"But this is not something I'm looking to do," he said.