Trump just joked about being president for life — for the 6th time
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
President Trump apparently likes to toy with the Constitution.
In a tweetstorm on Thursday, Trump spun from touting that day's White House social media summit to providing some nicknames for 2020 Democrats. But in between, he made at least his sixth joke about staying in office for a few extra years.
Trump started by saying that he'll "ultimately leave office in six years," which has a good chance of coming true, but added that it could be "10 or 14." Trump did add "just kidding" after this obviously unconstitutional idea, but it's far from the first time he's made it.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In March of last year, Trump tossed around the idea of being "president for life" after praising China's President Xi Jinping for granting that same term extension to himself. He brought up the subject again this April at a White House event, specifically using the same "10 or 14 years" to describe his potential time left in office.
In May, Trump retweeted Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.'s suggestion that he's owed "2 yrs added to his 1st term" due to distractions caused by the Mueller investigation. Last month, Trump tweeted again to ask if the "people would demand I stay longer." And a few weeks later, Trump retweeted an absurd meme video showing him running for reelection in the year 90,000, suggesting that both the Constitution and the finite amount of energy contained within the human body do not apply to him.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Political cartoons for February 12Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include a Pam Bondi performance, Ghislaine Maxwell on tour, and ICE detention facilities
-
Arcadia: Tom Stoppard’s ‘masterpiece’ makes a ‘triumphant’ returnThe Week Recommends Carrie Cracknell’s revival at the Old Vic ‘grips like a thriller’
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
