Trump won't run for a third term. But he can keep Democrats on their losing streak. | Opinion
The more President Donald Trump can keep Democrats focused on attacking him and a mythical third term, the less time they'll have to establish a coherent message for voters.
My husband and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary this year. And after all that time together, I know exactly how to push his buttons (and vice versa).
We know precisely what comment will start an immediate argument – and how that argument will end. Sometimes, we’ll still do it anyway.
Human nature, I suppose.
It’s a little bit like President Donald Trump’s relationship with the news media and Democrats.
He’s been around them a long time (heck, he’s been a Democrat), and he knows what will set them off.
Case in point: During an interview on Sunday with NBC News, Trump refused to rule out a third term – something that’s prohibited by the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution.
Cue the immediate freak-out and strident headlines.
'I'm not joking,' Trump says about a possible third term. But I think he is.
In response to a question about whether he’d like to have a third term, Trump said that “I like working” and that “a lot of people would like me to” hold office for another term.
During the interview, Trump was presented with a scenario about whether Vice President JD Vance could run for president and then turn the reins over to Trump if he won. Trump said that was “one” possibility.
Amending the Constitution is another, but an extremely difficult challenge.
I don’t think Trump, who will turn 79 in June, really wants a third term. And he alluded to as much during that same NBC interview and later in the day with reporters.
For instance, he said on Air Force One: “I don’t want to talk about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, we have a long time to go. We have almost four years to go. And that’s a long time.”
Trump’s right about that, and this is most likely what he actually thinks.
Goading the media and the left is just too tempting (and easy), however, for the president.
There’s nothing more that liberals (who make up most of the legacy news media) like to do than hand-wringing about Trump’s authoritarian instincts. And the mere speculation that Trump and Vance could try to pull off the same kind of multiterm machinations that Russian dictator (“President”) Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev have done to keep Putin in power is prime material.
Calling Trump and GOP 'fascists' didn't work ahead of election. It won't now.
You can be sure Democrats will play up Trump’s comments for a long time.
Is that a good strategy, though? Ahead of the 2024 election, the left did its best to paint Trump and his supporters as rabid fascists who would destroy democracy. They’ve continued to do so, despite the failure of that tactic.
Progressive superstars New York Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have been holding rallies to garner support for “fighting oligarchy.”
That comes as the Democratic Party faces record-low approval ratings and the need for serious soul-searching.
Yet, too many Democrats don’t seem to get that. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom former Vice President Kamala Harris plucked out of Midwest obscurity to run as her vice presidential nominee, has promulgated his view that Democrats need to double down more on the issues that voters rejected in November ‒ such as weak immigration laws, DEI policies (diversity, equity and inclusion) and other woke ideology.
“We got ourselves in this mess because we weren’t bold enough to stand up and say you're damn right we’re proud of these policies,” Walz said at a recent event. “We’re going to put them in, and we’re going to execute them.”
The more Trump can keep Democrats focused on attacking him and a mythical third term, the less time they’ll have to establish a coherent message for voters.
Trump’s not going to win a third election. But he could help keep Democrats on their losing streak.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques