Is there a point at which Republicans and the broader conservative movement take President Trump’s third-term push seriously and start trying to make it happen?
His former adviser Steve Bannon told The Economist that there is “a plan” to make Trump president again despite the limitations of the 22nd Amendment.
“There’s many different alternatives,” he said, declining to reveal any of those until a later date.
The Trump Organization is selling Trump 2028 hats, and Trump had 2028 hats in the Oval Office during a pre-government shutdown meeting with congressional leaders from both parties. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he asked Vice President Vance if he had a problem with that, with Vance saying: “No comment.”
The chatter has ramped up so much again that even a market analyst at Signum Global addressed the matter, per Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal, outlining a potential third-term loophole.
Trump on Air Force One early Monday said he would not attempt that loophole — running as vice president, with the person atop the ticket stepping down and then Trump taking over once elected — calling it “too cute.”
But he would not rule out seeking a third term — and said he “would love to do it.”
Trump has talked about a potential third term or 2028 bid repeatedly for months. Most national Republicans have dismissed the idea as a joke, or trolling the media — despite Trump himself telling NBC earlier this year that he is “not joking” about the matter.
If meme magic is real, don’t be surprised when Trump 2028 starts picking up steam.
There are already real efforts in the works.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) proposed a Constitutional amendment in January that would allow Trump to seek a third term. It was carefully worded to only allow a president who has served two non-consecutive terms to seek a third one, preventing former President Obama and former President Bush from mounting a return.
It’s politically impossible for that effort to succeed. It would take two-thirds of each chamber of Congress – meaning significant support from Democrats – to advance, before needing three-quarters of states to ratify the amendment.
But other forces are working to build up outside support.
Take the Third Term Project – an initiative spearheaded by Republicans for National Renewal, which describes itself as a nationalist and populist group – whose activists first popped up at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) earlier this year, handing out “Trump 2028” stickers and displaying an image of Trump in the style of a Roman statue.
That group has mentioned not only a constitutional amendment through Congress but other long-shot ideas like an Article V Convention called by states to amend the Constitution, the idea of running as vice president, or even a legal challenge in an attempt to get the Supreme Court’s conservative justices to decide that the 22nd Amendment allows the president to serve more than two terms as long as they are non-consecutive.
The Third Term Project is finalizing a white paper on the topic, titled “Staying Till The Job is Done: The Case for the Third Term Project.”
I got my hands on an excerpt, which is more aimed at building political support for the third-term cause than on a legal loophole. Here it is:
“Given the overwhelming need to protect the national interest amidst these fluctuating circumstances, it might very well be time to act boldly and think anew in order to preserve the nation and civilization our forefathers so painstakingly fought for and bequeathed to us. Put more bluntly, it might be time to consider the potential benefits of allowing truly exceptional leaders to stay in office long enough for consequential nation-building goals to be properly seen through.
“Firstly, it is important to establish what is and is not historical fact and precedence. In the American context, there was an article of faith that the President would not serve more than two terms in that most esteemed office in order to prevent the emergence of what was seen as a calcified monarchy. This article was later codified into the Constitution as the twenty-second amendment, shortly after the only man to break this gentlemen’s agreement, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, served four consecutive terms before dying in office.
“The purported benefits of the New Deal in mitigating the effects of the Great Depression is a topic still fiercely debated to this day, with conservative and liberal historians and economists arguing vastly divergent opinions on the matter. But what is objectively true is that FDR, apart from the Founding Fathers themselves, is the man most responsible for the America we currently have today, for better or worse.
“This level of consequence would have been all but impossible to achieve had FDR been officially confined to less than a decade of national stewardship, which then begs the question: Should America be blessed with a truly noble and exceptional leader who goes on to occupy the Oval Office, would it be wiser to allow him a flexible timeline with which to serve this nation to the fullest extent of his capabilities?”
It all sounds very far-fetched. But given Trump’s refusal to rule out a third term, his history of inspiring an election-denialism movement, and devoted following, it’s feasible to see the jokes turning into a movement as Trump and his allies making a serious third-term effort — even if it’s ill-fated.
Welcome to The Movement, a weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I’m Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill.
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HERITAGE RESPONDS TO SENATOR WHITEHOUSE
SCOOP — Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts on Monday formally denied a request from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) for a broad swath of documents and communication from the think tank that might have contributed to an Environmental Protection Agency change.
Whitehouse, in his role as ranking member on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, in September launched an investigation into outside influences who might have impacted the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rollback of the agency’s 2009 endangerment finding that determined greenhouse gasses threaten public health and welfare. He sent requests for information to not only Heritage but also the America First Policy Institute, American Petroleum Institute BP, Chevron, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Exxon, General Motors, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, Shell, Toyota, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and more, noting some of their praise for the proposed rule change.
Whitehouse had requested from Heritage, and from others, any documents from Nov. 5, 2024, through July 29, 2025, containing the words “endangerment,” “tailpipe,” “consumer choice,” “preempt,” or “preemption.”
Roberts wrote that Whitehouse’s request “lacks any legal authority to compel the internal work product demanded.”
“The basic premise of your letter is that any challenge to the endangerment finding, and antifossil fuel policies more broadly, is obviously unscientific and immoral, and corrupt; therefore, Heritage or anyone else challenging anti-fossil-fuel policies is corrupt and in need of investigation,” Roberts responded. “But if you read our work, you would understand why our position is in fact the scientific and moral one.”
Roberts added: “It is in no way unusual that government officials notice and utilize Heritage’s work. On the contrary, that is the point.”
COLLEGE REPUBLICAN CHAPTER DISAVOWAL RICHOCHETS
The Boston College chapter of the College Republicans is getting backlash after it publicly criticized a speech from a MAGA-world figure it hosted on campus.
American Moment CEO Nick Solheim traveled to Boston — on his own dime — last week, where he gave a speech telling the young students that they “need to be willing to be killed” for their beliefs.
The Boston College Republicans chapter executive board then posted a since-deleted statement recognizing that Solheim had not been approved to speak on campus — and adding his rhetoric was “unprecedented and unrepresentative of our club members,” and that it did not endorse “any of these views.” It then noted it would host Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) while saying it will “uphold the notion of civil discourse.”
There was massive online backlash from MAGA figures and conservative activists. Jack Posobiec called the statement “pathetic and soft.” The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles called it “disgraceful.” Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) called it “pure cowardice.”
The College Republicans of America — one of the spun-off national rivals to the more-established College Republican National Committee — said it designated the Boston College Republicans group as an “unwelcome organization.” (If you want to go down the rabbit hole, here’s more on the national CR infighting from Alex J. Rouhandeh at Newsweek.)
The Boston College Republicans chapter didn’t get back to me when I asked about the statement on Monday.
What was perhaps most interesting about Solheim’s speech is how it hit on a core theme dividing the old free-market establishment and MAGA right.
“How many of you in this room want to die for lower taxes, free trade, and the ideas of Adam Smith, the invisible hand, and so on? Show of hands? No? Do you think that’s why they slander us in the media and attempt to kill our leaders? No,” Solheim said, according to a copy of his speech he posted on X.
Rather, he argued, it is freedom of speech, freedom of association — “the God-given right to associate with whomever and whichever ideas you like, no matter how naughty the mainstream media may think they are, without any legal downside” — and freedom from tyranny are the values, he argues, their enemies would kill them over.
And Solheim had this to say on the Young Republicans racist group chat drama from earlier this month: “Recognize the friend/enemy distinction and live accordingly …. At the same time as we’re eating our own, the likely next Attorney General of Virginia has called for the death of the ‘little fascist’ 2 and 5 year-old children of one of his Republican colleagues and has not been denounced by a single Democrat in or seeking federal elected office. These two sins are not even close to similar in their severity, yet there’s a lesson in how Democrats protect their own. Saying naughty, edgy words may be dumb, but what Democrats are doing is evil. I will never disavow one of my own with these stakes.”
ON MY CALENDAR
- Monday, Nov. 3: Eagle Forum and the Patriot Freedom Project host a panel on “Ending the weaponization of the federal government,” featuring Patriot Freedom Project’s Cynthia Hughes, John Lauro, personal counsel to President Trump in the Jack Smith prosecution; Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project; Nicholas Smith, attorney for January 6 defendants; and Douglass Mackey, whose conviction over posting 2016 election memes was overturned. Capitol Hill Club, 1:30 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 21: The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity hosts its Freedom & Progress 2025 conference in downtown Washington, D.C.
THREE MORE THINGS
- SCOOP — The Archbridge Institute, a think tank aimed at “human flourishing and economic mobility” that was founded in 2016 by its president and CEO Gonzalo Schwarz, announced a major expansion – now with eight staff members and 20 fellows on its economics, psychology, and culture teams. Its staff consists of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Clay Routledge, Vice President of Policy Edward Timmons, Vice President of Finance Romulo Lopez, Chief Economist Justin Callais, senior fellow James J. Heckman, senior fellow Axel Kaiser; and Director of Communications and Marketing Kali Keller.
- SCOOP — The Heritage Foundation has been hosting lunches for Capitol Hill and administration staffers going without a paycheck amid the government shutdown, a tipster told me. After I asked about it, I got this from Steve Chartan, vice president of government relations at Heritage: “Since Democrats are intent on keeping the government closed and forcing Americans to work without a paycheck, Heritage is offering free lunch to furloughed federal employees and others needing a hand. We want Democrats to end their shutdown as soon as possible. In the meantime, it’s been great to see a lot of new faces at Heritage. Heritage is happy to be a resource for staff as long as Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jefferies keep up their temper tantrum.”
- Eyeballs emoji: FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino unfollowed Bannon’s War Room and the show’s CFO/COO Grace Chong, per a tracker account run by prediction market company Kalshi.
WHAT I’M READING
- New York Times’s Ross Douthat: Taylor Swift’s Latest Reinvention Is Both Coarse and Conservative
- The Telegraph’s Rob Crilly: Could Eric be Donald Trump’s White House heir? It’s not out of the question
- The Free Press’s Gabe Kaminsky: MAGA Lobbyists’ Advice to Clients: Help Pay for Trump’s Big, Beautiful Ballroom
- Wall Street Journal’s Joshua Chaffin: The Beauty Queens of MAGA World
- Rich Marlow in Politico Magazine: Before Trump, and Before the Young Republicans, There Was the Dartmouth Review
