Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky brought up the potential for a third Trump term while speaking about the stock trading ban on Thursday. The comments sparked backlash on social media.
Newsweek reached out to Paul’s office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution limits presidents to two terms in the White House. Despite this, the notion of President Donald Trump running for a third term has periodically surfaced among Trump allies and the president himself.
Trump fueled speculation in a March interview with NBC News, saying there were “methods [by] which you could do it” and adding that he was “not joking” about the prospect. However, he also said it was too early to seriously consider the idea, stating, “I’m focused on the current” presidential term.
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What To Know
While speaking on Fox Business about the stock trading ban, Paul told host Stuart Varney, “I think we’re going to discourage good people, successful people, from holding office. Part of the bill, I do believe, would forbid the president immediately from buying and selling stocks, and it would exempt him from the divestiture part.”
“Future presidents wouldn’t be allowed to own things, so Donald Trump or the next president, which, you know, or some say he might run for a third term,” Paul added. “But he would be forced to divest everything. He would have to sell all of his possessions.”
Paul continued: “I think Donald Trump’s got a complicated, probably, financial empire, and a lot of people just wouldn’t want to sell or get involved with all of that. You also don’t want to sell it during a downturn. There’s a lot of reasons, what would discourage successful people, and I frankly think that some of the success of Donald Trump being president is that he was used to the world of high finance, used to making deals with large amounts of money, and I don’t think we want to discourage people like that from holding office.”
Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan reacted to Paul’s comments on Bluesky, saying, “Chilling to see a senator floating the third term idea.”
Mark Copelovitch, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote on Bluesky: “Signs you might be a far right authoritarian party (#3191): Casual normalization by a sitting Senator of a ‘third term'”
Former Republican Representative Joe Walsh posted on X, “The only reason Trump has succeeded is because he’s gotten way too many Americans to normalize his corrupt, lawless, dishonest, and unconstitutional behavior.👇”
What People Are Saying
Robert Y. Shapiro, a professor of political science at Columbia University, told Newsweek: “I think Trump and his MAGA stalwart supporters like to have fun and to soak up media attention by talking about Trump serving a third term as president. The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and the 12th Amendment make it sufficiently legally clear that he can serve no more than two terms. The harm here is any attempt to assert further authoritarian power of the sort we see in Russia, China, and Turkey and elsewhere, and to thereby undermine American constitutional democracy.”
Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek: “Paul’s casual mention of a possible third term for Donald Trump, framed hypothetically in a discussion on stock trading bans, is noteworthy because it subtly tests the boundaries of the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit while portraying Trump as an indispensable figure deterred by divestment rules. This kind of offhand remark contributes to a pattern in Republican circles where constitutional constraints are treated as flexible, potentially to gauge public reaction.”
Agranoff added: “Among MAGA supporters, I believe most take this seriously rather than as humor; many see it as a legitimate aspiration, driven by frustration with perceived betrayals from establishment Republicans and a desire to extend Trump’s influence indefinitely, viewing term limits as an obstacle to their agenda.
“Yes, this rhetoric is dangerous, it normalizes authoritarian tendencies by eroding respect for democratic institutions, emboldening extremists and risking broader instability if such ideas gain traction without pushback.”
Republicans Against Trump, on X: “Rand Paul on voting against the stock trading ban: We discourage successful people from holding office…If Trump were the next president, and some say he might run for a 3rd term, he would be forced to divest everything HE CAN’T RUN FOR A THIRD TERM.”
What Happens Next
As debate over the legality and feasibility of a third Trump term floats around on social media and political circles, legislative efforts such as the proposed stock trading ban for public officials are expected to remain contentious.
