There is some good news for those who dislike Donald Trump: Once the current campaign
is over, he will never run for president again.
After three consecutive cycles in which he’s been the Republican nominee for president,
Trump made clear in an interview over the weekend that 2024 will be his final campaign.
Of course, if Trump wins, he would be constitutionally barred from running for a third
term. And if he loses?
Trump Rules Out Running In 2028 If Defeated In November
Full interview with Sharyl Attkisson here – https://t.co/cynCO8Qqix
“No, I don’t. I think that that will be, that will be it. I don’t see that at all. I think that hopefully we’re gonna be successful.” pic.twitter.com/NLzibw3yzw
— RCP Video (@rcpvideo) September 22, 2024
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
“That will be it. I don’t see that at all. Hopefully, we are going to be successful,” the
former president said in an interview with journalist Sharyl Attkisson, of the idea that he
would run again in 2028 in the event of a loss this year to Kamala Harris.
"It would have been easier if I did it … contiguous," Trump added in the Full Measure
interview.
The answer was unusual for Trump in that he has traditionally not acknowledged the
possibility that he could ever lose an election, at least without insinuating that such an
election was “rigged” or “stolen.”
The 78-year-old Trump would be 82 years old in a 2028 run, which is older than
President Biden was when he announced he was dropping his reelection bid. If he wins,
Trump will become the oldest president ever elected and, at a point during his term, will
pass Biden as the oldest president ever to serve.
Since he began running in 2015, Trump has essentially been running for president
nonstop, even holding rallies while president and years before the start of traditional
campaigns. He’s the first Republican nominated for president three different times since
Richard Nixon, although even Nixon was not nominated three cycles in a row (he lost in
1960, and won in 1968 and 1972.)
Of course, there’s always a possibility that Trump will go back on his word and run for a
fourth time anyway. If faced with the possibility of a more than 80-year-old candidate
who had lost twice already, this would certainly test the Republican Party.
Trump: “If I lose, I won’t run again in 2028.”
Trump loses.
Trump running in 2028: “I said I wouldn’t run if I lost. But I won – the election was rigged.”
Repeat every four years until he drops dead.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) September 22, 2024
The other question is, what will Trump do if he loses and we know he has no future as
president? Will he assume the role of elder statesman most ex-presidents do? Or will he
constantly snipe at political opponents, try to control the Republican Party from afar, and
continuously threaten to run again anyway? That is probably more likely.
At any rate, the next six weeks will likely be the last we ever see of Donald Trump as a
presidential candidate.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery.
