HOT off the heels of his landslide Presidential victory, a triumphant Donald Trump has hinted at an unprecedented third term in 2028.
The president-elect joked that he could be persuaded to “figure out” how to stand again after he stormed to victory.
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Speaking to Congressional Republicans at the Hyatt Regency in Washington DC, Trump told members that he had just run his last campaign unless they “do something”.
He joked: “I suspect I won’t be running again.
“Unless you say ‘He’s so good, we have to figure it out.'”
His comment prompted laughter from some of his supporters.
The 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution limits presidents to two terms.
Several GOP party members defended Trump’s joke.
Representative Tim Burchett said: “That was a joke. It was clearly a joke.”
“I leaned over to somebody beside me, Andy Biggs, and said that’ll be the headlines tomorrow, ‘Trump trying to thwart the Constitution.’
“There’s nothing further from the truth.”
Another party member, Representative Eli Crane also defended trumps comments.
He said: “That was a joke. I mean, he jokes all the time.”
He added: “You can’t even tell a joke without being excoriated.”
Trump was on his way to speak to current US president Joe Biden when he addressed the Republican party.
The joke comes after Trump’s opponents warned he would be a “dictator” if elected back to office.
Late last year, Trump said he would only be a “dictator” for one day, to close the U.S.-Mexico border and “drill drill drill.”
He added: “After that, I’m not a dictator.”
Meanwhile, the GOP have won enough seats to control the US House, after they took control of the Senate from the Democrats.
It comes as Trump has made two White House appointments in the days after his sweeping victory.
The incoming president named Republican presidential campaign boss Susie Wiles as the White House chief of staff.
Dubbed the “ice maiden,” Wiles is said to be one of the most feared political operatives in America – and will now be the first woman to hold the highly-powerful position.
Wiles is known for her excellent and courageous role as Donald Trump’s campaign manager in his successful 2024 election run.
The senior advisor to Trump masterminded many of his pivotal moments from the campaign – and helped him dominate against the Democrats when America took to the polls.
She was among the list of people Trump first thanked before his win was even officially announced.
Wiles’ appointment was the first of what is expected to be a flurry of staffing announcements as Trump prepares for a return to the White House on January 20.
As gatekeeper to the president, the chief of staff typically wields great influence.
The person manages White House staff, organizes the president’s time and schedule, and maintains contact with other government departments and lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Trump has given pal Elon Musk a top position in his upcoming cabinet – and named his office after a famous meme.
The billionaire tech tycoon will lead Trump‘s newly forged Department of Government Efficiency – as “secretary of cost-cutting”.
The office was named after the popular Doge meme – the famous Japanese dog Kabosu behind the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Elon is known to be a fan of the meme, once changing X (formerly Twitter) logo to the face of Doge.
Trump said in a statement on Tuesday that he will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies”.
Musk – the world’s richest man – will work as co-chair of the new team alongside prominent Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
In response, the X CEO said: “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Musk’s proximity to Trump is set to make him one of the most powerful people on the plant.
He has reportedly spent “nearly every day” at Mar-a-Lago since Trump’s crushing election victory last week.
Why can Presidents only serve two terms?
A president can have a maximum of two four-year terms, so eight years in power.
The 22nd amendment of the United States constitution, ratified in 1951, states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”.
Every former president since George HW Bush left office in 1993 have won two terms in office.
This is because opponents know they can stop legislation they don’t like just by delaying it until the president leaves office.
There were formerly no limits on the number of terms a president could serve in office.
President Franklin D Roosevelt won a record four terms in office from 1933 until his death in 1945.
After he left office the Twenty-second Amendment of the US Constitution was voted through congress on March 21, 1947.
It was approved by the majority of states on February 27 1951.
If a vice president or any senior politician steps in for a president during their term and goes on to serve two years of that presidency, they can only be re-elected once.
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