Donald Trump Rules Out Idea to Run as JD Vance’s Vice President in 2028 as Republicans Float Ways to Keep Him in White House

Donald Trump has once more declined to definitively rule out serving a third term in the White House.

“Am I ruling it out? I mean, you’ll have to tell me,” the 79-year-old said to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Oct. 27, when asked if he would like to serve as president again beyond two terms.

“I have my best numbers ever,” Trump claimed in footage circulated by outlets including ABC News, The Guardian, and Reuters.

“All I can tell you is that we have a great, a great group of people,” he added during the flight to Tokyo, Japan.

Trump first began hinting at the idea of extending his time in office shortly after his second inauguration in January 2025.

Although the United States Constitution clearly limits presidents to two terms, Trump has repeatedly referenced potential “methods” that could allow him to stay longer. He has even marketed campaign merchandise promoting a hypothetical 2028 run.

Still, Trump acknowledged that his party has “great people” who could also seek the presidency. He singled out Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling with him on Air Force One, and Vice President JD Vance as strong contenders.

One theoretical route that could test the constitutional limit involves Trump running as vice president on a ticket with someone like Vance or Rubio—then assuming the presidency if that person were to step down. Legal scholars have described that idea as a dubious “loophole.”

While speaking onboard the flight, Trump dismissed that scenario as “too cute.”

“I’d be allowed to do that,” he said. “But I wouldn’t do that. I think it’s too cute.”

He added, “Yeah, I would rule that out because it’s too cute. I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute. It’s not… It wouldn’t be right.”

Trump’s latest remarks came soon after his former strategist Steve Bannon publicly predicted that Trump would win a third election.

“Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people just sort of [need to] get accommodated with that,” Bannon said in an interview with The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes and deputy editor Ed Carr.

Bannon suggested there were “many different alternatives” to bypass constitutional restrictions, saying the details would be revealed “at the appropriate time.”

“He’s not perfect. He’s not churchy, not particularly religious, but he’s an instrument of divine will. And you could tell this by how he’s been able to pull this off,” Bannon said of Trump.

“We need him for at least one more term, right? And he’ll get that in ’28.”