type: timeline_event
President Trump stated he would 'love' a third presidential term and suggested running as vice president in 2028 as a workaround to the 22nd Amendment's two-term limit. Trump refused to clearly disavow the unconstitutional idea when pressed by reporters. The comments follow Steve Bannon's earlier statement that 'there is a plan' for Trump to run for a third term, calling Trump an 'instrument of divine will.' Trump's public floating of constitutional circumvention demonstrates his authoritarian impulses and disregard for democratic norms establishing peaceful transfer of power. The trial balloon tests public tolerance for eliminating presidential term limits, a hallmark of authoritarian consolidation of power. Trump's willingness to openly discuss violating constitutional constraints signals his view that rules limiting presidential power are negotiable obstacles rather than binding law.