During his State of the Union address on February 25, 2026, and again at a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 27, President Trump declared that he is “entitled” to a third presidential term because Democrats “cheated like hell” in the 2020 election. “Well, we're entitled to it, because they cheated like hell in the second — we would actually be entitled, to think of it,” Trump told the Texas crowd.
During his State of the Union, Trump said “this should be my third term,” rehashing his thoroughly debunked claim that the 2020 election was stolen. There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. More than 60 court cases challenging the results were dismissed, many by Trump-appointed judges. Trump's own Attorney General William Barr said the DOJ found no evidence of fraud sufficient to change the outcome.
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution explicitly limits presidents to two terms. It was ratified in 1951 specifically to prevent any president from holding power indefinitely, following Franklin Roosevelt's four terms. Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.
A sitting president repeatedly floating the idea that he deserves to stay in power beyond his constitutional limit — based on a lie about a stolen election — is not a joke. It is exactly how democratic norms erode: through repetition, normalization, and the slow acceptance of what was once unthinkable.
Update (October 21, 2026): at an Oval Office event on October 20, Trump referred to “the very beginning of my second term, or third term depending on the way you want to define it,” according to the Roll Call Factbase transcript.
Update (October 27, 2026): At a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on October 22, Trump said, “I think the law says that I'm not allowed to run again,” and of the limit, “Unfortunately, it's quite concise there's not a lot of wiggle room.” He went on, “They cheated us on the second one because we won it three times.” Then he said, “So, I think I have the right to run again.” The quotes are from the Roll Call Factbase transcript. He lost the 2020 election, and there is no evidence that fraud changed its outcome.