Obama on 3rd term: 'I think if I ran, I could win'

Obama speaks to the African Union on Tuesday, July 28.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb AFP / Getty Images)

published 28 July 2015

President Obama thinks he's a "pretty good president." Good enough that he says if he ran for a third term, he believes he could win. But, as he acknowledged in a Tuesday address at the African Union headquarters, a third term just isn't an option.

"I love my work, but under our Constitution, I cannot run again. I can't run again. I actually think I'm a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I could win. But I can't. So there's a lot that I'd like to do to keep America moving, but the law is the law, and no one person is above the law, not even the president." [Obama]

Now, Obama obviously isn't actually considering a third term as president. Rather, he used this hypothetical to prove a point to African leaders about the importance of stepping down from office when their terms ended. Recently in Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza was elected to a third term despite the constitutional limit of two terms.

Obama called on the African Union to curb this overreach of power and ensure that African leaders stick to the law. Obama also said he just doesn't understand why leaders don't step down when it's their turn to do so. "Frankly," Obama told the African Union, "I’m looking forward to life after being president."