Most think Trump will attempt to serve third term: Survey
Most voters in a new poll predicted President Trump will attempt to serve a third term in the White House, despite a constitutional restriction limiting presidents to two terms.
A survey from YouGov found 56 percent of U.S. adults thought Trump “probably” or “definitely” would try to serve again, compared to 28 percent who said the opposite and 15 percent who said they weren’t sure.
Trump over the weekend said he’s “not joking” about potentially serving a third term. Pressed about it in a call with NBC News, Trump said “there are methods which you could do it, as you know.”
Trump has floated the idea of a third term in the Oval Office multiple times before, but his new suggestion that he’s serious about it has alarmed some Democrats, while Republicans have largely downplayed the remarks as a joke.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) this week said he thinks Trump is “messing with” his opponents and the media. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the president has a “great sense of humor.”
Sixty percent of respondents said Trump “definitely” should not be allowed to seek another term, plus another 9 percent who said he “probably” shouldn’t. Twenty percent said he should be allowed to do so, and 12 percent weren’t sure.
Asked to predict what’s most likely to happen in 2028, respondents were split between whether a Democrat or Republican will win the presidential election, with 28 percent on either side. A plurality said they weren’t sure, at 36 percent, and another 8 percent said “there won’t be a presidential election” next cycle.
The 22nd Amendment restricts an individual from being elected to more than two terms as commander in chief. Any constitutional change would take support from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress — or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of states — and then would need ratification from three-quarters of states.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said this week that Trump recognizes the “high bar” to amend the Constitution.
After his Sunday comments to NBC, Trump later said he wasn’t “looking at that” but “so many people” have asked him to run again.
“I don’t even want to talk about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, you’ve got a long time to go,” Trump said.
The survey, part of YouGov’s Daily Questions, was conducted March 31 among 3,565 U.S. adults. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party. The margin of error for the overall sample is about 2 percent.