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While insisting he’s “studied the law,” one of Donald Trump’s attorneys and closet allies has insisted that the president could run for a third term, according to a report.
In 2023, Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser who now serves as his personal lawyer, told an associate that he “studied the law” and believed Trump could find a way to run for a third term, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The associate thought Epshteyn’s suggestion was “amusing,” according to the outlet, but now views his comments as alarming as Trump continues to muse about running again in 2028.
The Independent has reached out to Epshteyn for comment.
Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser, reportedly told an associate in 2023 about President Donald Trump’s ability to run for a third term after he ‘studied the law’
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Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser, reportedly told an associate in 2023 about President Donald Trump’s ability to run for a third term after he ‘studied the law’ (REUTERS)
As recently as last weekend, the president emphasized that he was “not joking” about running for office again while speaking to Kristen Welker on Meet the Press. He added that it’s “far too early to think about it.”
Pressed about how he would achieve this — seeing as the 22nd Amendment bars any person from being elected president more than twice — Trump told Welker: “There are methods [by] which you could do it.”
Although he refused to divulge these methods outright, the host asked about a possible scenario where Vice President J.D. Vance ran for president with Trump as his running mate and then passed the role over to him. “That’s one [method]” Trump replied. “But there are others too.”
White House officials have dismissed the idea. White House communications director Steven Cheung echoed Trump, telling the Journal that “it’s far too early to think about” a third term. Similarly, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a NewsNation reporter on Monday: “It's not really something we're thinking about, he has four years. There's a lot of work to do.”
Trump has mused about running for a third term lately, including as recently as last weekend when he said he was ‘not joking’ about the idea
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Trump has mused about running for a third term lately, including as recently as last weekend when he said he was ‘not joking’ about the idea (AP)
But Epshteyn’s conversation seems to add a level of gravity to Trump’s musings — which have been interpreted in many ways.
Some Trump allies have endorsed another presidential run. Some Congressional Republicans have insisted Trump was joking when he made such comments. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes Trump “recognizes the constitutional limitations.”
Alternatively, Trump recently told a friend that he was trying to “make the media crazy” with his third-term comments, the friend told the Journal. In the same vein, one Trump ally told the outlet that his comments shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee, however, seemed to take the idea seriously. In January, he proposed to revise the 22nd Amendment, citing Trump as the “only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness.” But revising the constitution isn’t an easy feat; it requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate and then ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures.