President Rules Out 2028 Run, Cites 22nd Amendment Aboard Air Force One

President Donald Trump conceded Wednesday that the Constitution prohibits him from seeking a third term, even as his longtime ally Steve Bannon insisted a secret strategy exists to keep Trump in power beyond 2028.

Trump addressed reporters aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea.

"It’s a very interesting thing. I have the best numbers for any president in many years – any president" he said. "And I would say that, if you read it, it’s pretty clear. I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad."

The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."

Trump has broached a third term at least a half-dozen times in his second administration's first nine months.

Supporters rally behind the idea amid his fulfillment of campaign pledges.

Trump praised Republican successors, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accompanied him, and Vice President JD Vance.

"All I can tell you is that we have a great group of people," he said.

Bannon, Trump's former White House chief strategist, escalated the rhetoric in a video interview with The Economist published last week.

"He’s gonna get a third term," Bannon declared. "Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people just ought to get accommodated with that."

Pressed on the 22nd Amendment, Bannon replied: "There’s many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is, but there’s a plan, and President Trump will be the president in ’28."

He called Trump a "vehicle of divine providence" and "instrument of divine will," insisting the “will of the American people” overrides limits.

"We had longer odds in ’16 and longer odds in ’24 than we’ve got in ’28,” Bannon added. “We have to finish what we started."

Legal experts deem circumvention impossible without repeal, requiring two-thirds congressional approval and 38 states — a near-insurmountable hurdle.