President Donald Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he was “not joking” about the possibility of seeking a third term as president, which is expressly forbidden by the Constitution. Trump has previously floated the idea, sometimes jokingly, at his political rallies.
While some Trump allies laugh off Trump’s comments as trolling designed to upset and distract his political opponents, Trump’s cheerleaders at Pentecostal-oriented media outlet Charisma told readers that a third Trump term could be part of God’s divine plan for America.
Trump was asked by NBC about one scenario floated by some Trump supporters, including “prophet” Shane Vaughn, in which Vice President J.D. Vance would run in 2028 with Trump as his vice presidential running mate, and then step down and hand over the reins. “That’s one” method, Trump said, claiming, “But there are others, too.”
The Constitution clearly forbids anyone from running for vice president who is not eligible to serve as president, which would disqualify Trump. But Trump has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to flout the Constitution, and his allies are currently seeking to dismantle the federal courts’ role as a check on unconstitutional or illegal behavior by the president.
Some journalists have grappled with whether and how to report on talk of a third term, which some see as nothing more than an effort to deflect media and public attention from the scandal over a serious breach of national security by top defense and intelligence officials.
But given the contempt that Trump and his supporters have shown for the rule of law, it’s impossible to say for sure that there is no such scheming under way. Those who planned the Project 2025 presidency plotted unconstitutional and illegal acts that Trump has moved to implement by executive order. Trump and many of his allies tried awfully hard to overturn the 2020 election and pushed then-Vice President Mike Pence to violate the law and Constitution to stop Congress for affirming Joe Biden’s electoral college victory.
One of Project 2025’s champions, MAGA operative Steve Bannon, told journalist Chris Cuomo earlier in March, “I’m a firm believer that President Trump will run again in 2028,” saying, “We’re working on it. I think we’ll have a couple of alternatives.”
We know that Bannon and Trump are both admirers of authoritarian leaders. Maybe they’re taking some inspiration from Trump’s ally in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele, who ran for reelection last year despite the plain language of the Constitution against a president serving consecutive terms. After taking power in 2021, Bukele “moved quickly to weaken checks and balances, undermine the rule of law, and co-opt the country’s judiciary, consolidating power in the executive.” Sound familiar? Last year, Bukele and his allies made additional changes to the Constitution that further consolidate his power.
Rep. Dan Goldman told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that Trump’s claims should be taken seriously given that they are part of the president’s ongoing effort to “break our democracy.”
Since Trump made his weekend “not joking” comments, some of his allies have mocked the media for treating the possibility seriously. On the FlashPoint program, Christian nationalist Rick Green laughed about Trump’s “masterful” trolling, which he said is designed to distract Trump’s opponents. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the White House that actually takes this serious or would say there’s a way for him to do this,” said Green. “There is no way for him to do this. He knows that. He’s just trolling them.”
Green delivered the same message on the WallBuilders show April 2, calling Trump’s conversation about a third term “one of the greatest trolls ever.” But then he undermined that message by claiming that there’s “nuance” in the Constitution’s language forbidding a third term.
Some Republican congressional leaders have downplayed the possibility, saying Trump has a “great sense of humor” and is “messing with” his opponents. But other GOP officials, perhaps not sure themselves whether Trump is trolling or imagining himself as a forever president, have been less forceful. “I don’t think that’s a real serious conversation at this point in time,” RNC chair Michael Whatley told Fox News.
Meanwhile, over at Charisma, a wildly sycophantic pro-Trump media platform, content development editor Abby Trivett examined what a potential third Trump term might mean from a “prophetic standpoint”:
Trump has been touted as potentially the “last president” of the United States as we know it. The New World Order also could be lurking just around the corner, if the U.S. really were to acquire Greenland and resume greater control of the Panama Canal.
From the moment Trump took office in 2016, many prophetic voices declared that he carried a “Cyrus anointing”—a God-ordained leader raised up to fulfill a specific purpose. But what if Trump’s assignment is not yet complete? Could a third term—whether through legal technicalities or unconventional political maneuvers—be part of God’s sovereign plan?
As we race toward the end times, could this all very well be part of God’s divine strategy to restore righteousness, protect religious freedom and push back against dark forces seeking to weaken America?
Far from being a mere political event, a third Trump term could be a sign of God’s mercy—a window of opportunity for the nation to return to its Judeo-Christian roots. The church must rise with boldness, covering Trump in prayer and interceding for God’s purposes to prevail. If this is indeed a sovereign move, it may mark not only the preservation of America but also a powerful catalyst for revival, reformation and a renewed stand against the encroaching darkness of the age.
