"No matter what the Constitution says, Trump has already put his hat in the ring."

Honestly, when I first saw this news last October, I almost spit out my coffee.

To call the Democratic leadership to prevent a federal government shutdown and then place a 'TRUMP 2028' red hat on the negotiation table?

And even post a photo of it on social media? This isn't negotiation; it's performance. No, it's beyond performance—it's a kind of psychological warfare.

What I've been feeling lately is that Trump supporters really love this kind of thing.

They get excited, saying, "Our president is stirring things up with the Democrats again." The question is whether this will end as just a simple meme.

The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is clear.

"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."

Do you know why this provision was created?

Because Franklin D. Roosevelt broke the tradition of allowing two terms for U.S. presidents during the Great Depression and World War II and served four terms.

He died just 41 days into his fourth term in 1945, and after that, Congress decided, "This isn't right," and clearly stipulated in the Constitution that a president can only serve a maximum of two terms.

Trump served his first term (2017–2021) and is currently in his second term.

Running for a third term is impossible under the current Constitution.

Amendment? It's nearly impossible. Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate and ratification by 38 out of 50 states.

Given that the Republican Party is barely maintaining a majority in Congress, this is unlikely to happen.

But... is there a workaround?

The scenario is as follows: In the 2028 presidential election, Vance runs as the presidential candidate, and Trump runs as the vice-presidential candidate. If they win as a Vance-Trump ticket and Vance resigns for some reason... Trump would then succeed from vice president to president.

The argument is that the 22nd Amendment prohibits "election," not succession.

In the legal community, this is certainly a hot topic. Constitutional scholars are still debating how far the meaning of "elected" can be interpreted.

Is this actually possible? To be honest, if it goes to court, it will likely be decided by the Supreme Court, which currently has a conservative majority of 6 to 3. No matter how this is interpreted, debate is inevitable.

Is this a real attempt at a third term or a way to fend off a lame duck?

I lean more towards the latter.

In politics, the concept of a lame duck ultimately comes from the perception that "this person is about to be done."

As people start to line up for the next power, the current president's influence rapidly diminishes. But if Trump keeps signaling, "I'm still thinking about 2028," it becomes awkward for Republican lawmakers to turn their backs on him.

This is a game that any seasoned politician in Washington knows. Trump is instinctively doing this.

The TRUMP 2028 hat is part of that psychological warfare. It's not that he actually plans to run for a third term, but rather a message that "I am not done yet" that he spreads in the market every day.

CNN analyzed it as "an overt message to the Democrats," which is half right and half wrong. That hat is also a message directed at the Republican Party. "Don't even think about turning against me."

When Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked Vance sitting next to him, "Is this a problem?" Vance replied, "No comment." This shouldn't just be laughed off.

Vance's "No comment" means he neither confirmed nor denied it. This position itself is a political calculation. If Vance were to say, "That makes no sense," he would be targeted by Trump's supporters. On the other hand, if he said, "Yes, I'm running for a third term," he would be jumping into the middle of a constitutional debate. No comment is the safest choice.

But I got the feeling from this No comment that this scenario might not just be a simple joke.

If it were a complete bluff, he would have said, "Wasn't that just a joke?"

My thought is that Trump is someone who uses uncertainty as a weapon.

While it hasn't been activated yet, it shows that it can be activated at any time. That possibility itself is a political asset.

Maintaining unpredictability is one of his strongest political strategies, so during times like these when there is noise about an attack on Iran, I thought of last year's news and decided to write this. I can guarantee that news about Trump's third term will come up occasionally in the future. That's just part of Trump's character.