President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would not run for vice president in the 2028 American election, a move some supporters suggest would allow him to skirt term limits and stay in the White House.
The U.S. Constitution limits presidents to two terms, and Mr Trump began his second term in January.
A popular narrative among his supporters is that the current vice president, JD Vance, could run for president in 2028 on a ticket with Mr Trump.
If Mr Vance wins, the theory goes, he would quickly resign and put Mr Trump back in office.
However, some of his advocates have suggested the Republican could skirt the rule by becoming vice president and then stepping back into a vacated top job.
Asked whether he would run for vice president in November 2028, Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he “would be allowed to do that.”
He, however, added, “I wouldn’t do it… I think it’s too cute. It wouldn’t be right.”
Mr Trump, who served his initial term from 2017 to 2021, often says his supporters have called for him to govern beyond his current term, despite the constitutional restriction.
The 79-year-old billionaire has also recently displayed red hats emblazoned with the slogan “Trump 2028” on a desk in the Oval Office.
Mr Trump’s comments came after Steve Bannon, his former advisor and one of the key ideologues of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, said, “There is a plan” to keep him in the White House.
“He is going to get a third term… Trump is going to be president in ’28. And people just ought to get accommodated with that,” Mr Bannon had told The Economist.
Asked about the 22nd Amendment—a constitutional article mandating term limits—Mr Bannon said, “There’s many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is.”
