By KATELYN CARALLE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Donald Trump might have been joking about seeking a third term – but some of those closest to him don’t think it’s such a bad idea.
The president’s White House counselor, close advisor and former lawyer, Alina Habba, has her thoughts: ‘The more Trump the better.’
Speaking exclusively with DailyMail.com for her first wide-ranging print interview since Trump took office, Habba said she does think Trump has put forward the prospect in ‘jest.’
Habba and others, however, haven’t ruled out accepting a third Trump term if that came to be – even though it’s currently in blatant violation of the Constitution.
But a lawmaker put forward a proposal to amend the 22nd Amendment, which would ultimately result in allowing Trump, 78, to serve for a third term.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced the joint resolution that would allow a U.S. president to be elected no more than three terms.
The stipulations of the amendment, however, would prevent presidents from running for a third term if they already served two consecutive terms – further exhibiting how the proposal is specifically targeted toward the current president.
Counselor to the President Alina Habba’s response to Donald Trump’s ‘third term’ jokes?: ‘The more Trump, the better!’
Trump has joked several times about serving a third term after remaining sore over the 2020 loss, claiming Democrats stole his shot at eight consecutive years to ‘Make America Great Again’
‘No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.’
This would, for example, stop former President Barack Obama from running for another term.
Just days after winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump joked about running for a third term during remarks before the House GOP conference.
In mid-November, Trump returned to Washington, D.C. to speak with his predecessor at the White House and meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
‘I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say ‘he’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out,” the 78-year-old said.
Then, exactly a week after taking his second oath of office, Trump brought up the idea again.
Speaking at his Doral club in Florida, Trump mused about a third term during a speech at the House Republican retreat.
‘I’ve raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I can’t use for myself, but I’m not 100% sure,’ Trump told House Republicans last week. ‘I think I’m not allowed to run again.
‘Am I allowed to run again?’ Trump asked in the direction of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who moments earlier had introduced the President. ‘Mike, I better not get you involved in that.’
The room received it as a joke – but it’s a proposal Trump has repeated multiple times now.
Habba, speaking with DailyMail.com at the White House on January 29, 2025, suggested that she expects Trump to accomplish is four years what other presidents do in eight
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a resolution to Congress that would amend the 22nd Amendment to allow a president to seek a third term if he served two non-consecutive terms before. This would clear the way for Trump to seek a third term after this one concludes
‘Listen, I’m all here for Trump. The more Trump the better,’ Habba laughed when asked about a third term.
Getting more series, the Counselor to the President to DailyMail.com: ‘No, I don’t think – I think it was probably in jest. I will say this, I’m all – the more Trump the better for me.’
She added that Trump is going to get ‘so much’ done in the next four years that he won’t need eight – suggesting he would do in one term what takes other presidents two.
‘We plan on being here for four years, and listen, he’s really been involved in politics since 2015 and that hasn’t really changed,’ Habba said. ‘He was always a strong force for the Republican Party and for America.’
‘We have a lot of work to do and we’re going to get done,’ she insisted.