Steve Bannon Hints at '4 or 5' Ways Trump Could Get Third Term

Speaking to the Greenville County Republican Party's 2025 convention in South Carolina on Monday, Steve Bannon reportedly said he is working on "five or six different alternatives" that would allow President Donald Trump to run for a third term in 2028, of which "I think four or five of them are going to work."

Newsweek contacted Bannon for comment on Tuesday outside of regular office hours via an email to his War Room podcast.

Why It Matters

Trump has repeatedly flirted with seeking a third term, telling NBC's Meet the Press in March that "a lot of people want me to do it" and "there are methods [by] which you could do it."

The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that no president can serve more than two terms, but Bannon has previously suggested this might only apply to consecutive terms, an opinion that has been rejected by legal experts.

What To Know

According to local network WSPA News, during his address at the convention, Bannon discussed Trump potentially seeking a third term, commenting: "I haven't said we're going to amend the Constitution.

"We're working on five or six different alternatives that President Trump could run again and be president, and quite frankly I think four or five of them are going to work."

Bannon did not say what any of these "alternatives" were, but on his War Room podcast in December 2024, he suggested the two-term limit might only apply to consecutive terms. He commented: "Donald John Trump is going to raise his hand on the King James Bible and take the oath of office, his third victory and his second term.

"And the viceroy Mike Davis tells me, since it doesn't actually say consecutive, that, I don't know, maybe we do it again in '28? Are you guys down for that? Trump '28?"

Professor Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law expert at Georgia State University, previously told Newsweek this argument is incorrect. He said: "Reading is fundamental, and Steve Bannon may want to try it some time. The 22nd Amendment plainly says, 'No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.' This isn't remotely debatable."

Bannon served as Trump's White House chief strategist during his first term from January to August 2017, before launching his War Room podcast which is popular with conservative audiences.

In 2024, Bannon served four months in prison after being convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify before a House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Any bid to overturn the 22nd Amendment would be extremely difficult. It would most likely require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress, along with the support of three-quarters of state legislatures.

Given Republicans currently only have slim majorities in the House and Senate, and don't control anything like three-quarters' worth of state legislatures, this would be almost inconceivable unless the GOP makes big gains at the 2026 midterm elections.

What People Are Saying

Speaking to Newsweek about the Constitution, Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, said: "It is true that the text does not address whether a third term can be non-consecutive. This amendment was ratified in the 20th century, and I am not aware of anything in drafting or ratifying history suggesting a third, non-consecutive term would be permitted."

Speaking to WSPA, a protester outside the venue for Steve Bannon's speech on Monday said: "I am not against the GOP having a convention, I think that great, everybody's allowed to have their opinion, but Steve Bannon's specifically we do not want him in Greenville. We are not OK with him being here. Steve Bannon is essentially a Nazi."

Bannon hit back at this suggestion commenting: "You know I'm invited virtually to give a talk to the Jewish community. There's not a bigger defender of the nation of Israel than Steve Bannon and the War Room, I mean we've had a track record forever. I was one of the ones that made the recommendation about moving the embassy to Jerusalem."

What Happens Next

Any bid by Trump to run for a third term would almost certainly be fiercely resisted by Democrats and other opponents who would point to the safeguards around U.S. democracy. A recent Economist/YouGov poll found only 17 percent of Americans think Trump should seek a third term.