He fell for it. California Gov. Gavin Newsom actually fell for it. Just like all those Democrats who have defended the 20% on 80/20 issues, the left-wing governor of California and his fellow travelers are so easily cowed by President Donald Trump that they are lured into conspiracy theories that would ordinarily be the domain of basement dwellers with way too much time on their hands. Trump is a fascist, an authoritarian, a dictator — you’ve heard all those descriptions ad nauseam over the last decade. But now, Newsom suggests that Trump will suspend future presidential elections and never leave the White House in anything but a pine box.
Such drivel usually can be dismissed along with all the other Trump-deranged rhetoric flying off the shelf. But Newsom has now risen to the top of the field of Democrats seeking to succeed Trump in 2028. Indeed, after his much-ballyhooed decision to hold a special election in November to suspend the power of California’s redistricting commission so he can further gerrymander his state, the governor has broken away from the pack to become the clear frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. In the three latest polls, Newsom has built an average lead of nine points over Kamala Harris, fellow high-profile Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Wes Moore of Maryland, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and a host of others. As recently as June 15, Newsom trailed Harris by 23 points. So with a 32-point swing in his fortunes over the summer, what Newsom says should be taken seriously, even when it is clearly designed only to raise his national profile.
Newsom Takes the Bait
At The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit hosted by Politico on Aug. 27, Newsom claimed that he has been sent a couple of dozen Trump 2028 hats by MAGA world. Newsom used this to proclaim, “I don’t think Donald Trump wants another election.” He then added that Trump’s plans to build a new ballroom in the White House reinforce the notion that he does not plan to depart after two terms, the maximum allowed by the Constitution — who builds a ballroom and then leaves? But then came the piece de resistance: When he met with Trump in the Oval Office in February, the president pointed out a portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which Newsom took as evidence that Trump has his eye on a third term (FDR served three terms before the passage of the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to two full terms). Yup, the governor fell for it.
In continuing to toy with the down-and-out Democrats, Trump said in August that he would “probably not” run for a third term, stoking all manner of conspiracy theories from the left. This president never misses an opportunity to bait the hook for his enemies, knowing they will react hysterically and bellow into the darkness about Trump as a “threat to democracy,” a phrase repeated by the left so often that few even pay attention to it anymore.
But true to his inclination to alarm his enemies — often just for kicks and giggles — Trump said in March that there “are methods” by which he could remain in office. And White House spokesman Steve Cheung added to the intrigue at the time by refusing to rule out another run for Trump, saying that decision would come later: “Americans overwhelmingly approve and support President Trump and his America First policies. As the president said, it’s far too early to think about it and he is focused on undoing all the hurt Biden has caused and Making America Great Again.”
Donald Trump, President for Life?
The term “trolling” refers to disruptive behavior in which a person states or posts inflammatory content designed specifically to provoke others. And this president has turned it into an art form. He is simply not going to give leftists the satisfaction of ruling out a third term, even though it almost assuredly has nothing to do with his plans. He takes every opportunity to state a position that he knows will inflame the leftists, so he can sit back and watch them explode. And what could be more inflammatory than refusing to rule out yet another run for leader of the free world?
Talk about looking backward instead of forward. Newsom and company are so used to running against Trump that it’s almost like they cannot conceive of campaigning against any other Republican. Will they even remember how to run against a more conventional candidate like JD Vance or Marco Rubio, the default frontrunners for the 2028 GOP nomination? Will they even recall how to propose policies of their own instead of spending all their time, energy, and resources hating on Trump?
The president has been teasing big media ever since his January inauguration by hinting at a third term: “I’m not joking … a lot of people want me to do it. But, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.” In January, he told supporters that it would be “the greatest honour of my life to serve not once, but twice or three times or four times.” Though he later admitted that it was a joke for the “fake news media,” Trump’s official online merchandise store began offering the Trump 2028 hat for sale for $50, and the president’s son Eric was featured wearing the hat, adding a message that “the future looks bright!”
Reality Check
So, since this topic continues to fascinate MAGA and infuriate the left, let’s focus on how the long-shot proposition of a third Trump term could theoretically happen. Some supporters claim there is a loophole in the Constitution, arguing that the 22nd Amendment only explicitly bans someone being “elected” to more than two presidential terms, while saying nothing of “succession.” Under this theory, Trump could be the vice-presidential running mate to another candidate, such as current VP JD Vance — in the 2028 election. If they win, Vance could be sworn in and then immediately resign — letting Trump take over by succession.
Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser, said he believed Trump would “run and win again,” adding there were “a couple of alternatives” in determining how it could be accomplished. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) even introduced a resolution in January calling for a constitutional amendment to allow a president to serve up to three terms — as long as they were not consecutive (which would rule out every other living ex-president). Of course, proposing such an amendment was designed strictly to make a point, since it has zero chance of passage, and the Constitution’s 12th Amendment says “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States.” As Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame, told BBC, “I don’t think there’s any ‘one weird trick’ to getting around presidential term limits.”
For leftists, talk of a third term is deadly serious because they famously take Trump “literally, not seriously.” Newsom has done just that, cleverly pushing his way to the top of the Democratic field more than three years out from the 2028 election by making farcical claims of Trump becoming president for life, on top of his efforts to checkmate Texas’ redistricting scheme that will likely add up to five new Republican seats in the House of Representatives. But since his enemies who have tried to imprison, bankrupt, or assassinate him have failed at every turn, for Donald Trump, talk of 12 years as president is just great fun.
