Dershowitz tells Trump the Constitution is unclear on third term, WSJ reports | Reuters
Donald Trump reviewed a draft manuscript by lawyer Alan Dershowitz arguing the Constitution may permit a third presidential term, according to the Wall Street Journal. Dershowitz claimed he told Trump during an Oval Office meeting that constitutional language on presidential term limits is ambiguous, contradicting the 22nd Amendment, which explicitly bars anyone from being elected president more than twice.
The 22nd Amendment, ratified after Franklin D. Roosevelt served four terms, states unequivocally: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Dershowitz’s unpublished book, titled “Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?”, examines scenarios potentially circumventing this restriction.
Trump has previously signaled interest in circumventing constitutional term limits. He spent months publicly teasing the idea of testing the Constitution’s language before stating in October that he would not pursue a third term, calling the restriction “too bad” but acknowledging it prevented him from running again. Trump’s pattern of attacking institutions and officials who oppose him extends to questioning constitutional boundaries when they constrain his power.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded to the report by stating “the American people would be lucky to have President Trump in office for even longer,” signaling openness to the idea without committing to it. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that Trump “knows he can’t run again,” creating contradictory messaging from the administration.
Trump has continuously falsified that he lost the 2020 election to widespread voter fraud, a claim rejected by numerous investigations and courts. His willingness to entertain arguments that constitutional limits may be negotiable reflects a broader pattern of treating constitutional constraints as obstacles rather than foundational law.