Dem
47
GOP
53
Yesterday, Donald Trump did an interview with NBC. And the big "news," such as it is, was that he once again hinted he may try for a third term, claiming that "there are methods" by which he might do so.
Although this got a lot of attention yesterday, we have only four things to say. First, there are NOT "methods," beyond those that involve twisting and turning the Constitution, and then hoping SCOTUS looks the other way. This is not impossible, but it's not likely, either. The justices are clever enough to know that letting Trump game the system will open the doors for some Democrat to do so in the future. And Democrats tend to be MUCH younger at age of election than Republicans. The last six Democrats, at time of their first election to the presidency, were 43, 56, 52, 46, 47 and 78. The last six Republicans were 62, 56, 69, 64, 54 and 70.
Second, even if SCOTUS does re-invent the Constitution, American voters don't like dynasties (see Bush, Jeb). Also, Barack Obama might have a thing or two to say about Trump v3.0. Yesterday, in fact, the top trending item on eX-Twitter was "Obama 2028."
Third, there is a bit of a silver lining here. If Trump feels the need to lay the groundwork for running again, then it means he is not planning to retain the office by fiat. Or, more likely, that he realizes it's not practical to retain the office by fiat.
And fourth, Trump breaks this shtick out anytime he wants to create a distraction—like, say, from the Signal mess. We do not wish to play his game, and so it is very likely going to be a LONG time before you see us writing about a hypothetical third Trump term again. (Z)
