In the halls of the White House and federal courtrooms nationwide, a provocative question has begun to resonate with increasing intensity: Can Donald Trump pursue a third presidential term?
The former president has not shied away from entertaining the notion of a return to the political arena, while his devoted supporters have enthusiastically embraced the idea, sporting new ‘Trump 2028’ merchandise as a testament to their unwavering loyalty.
Renowned attorney Alan Dershowitz, a seasoned legal mind and confidant to Trump, suggests that while the prospect remains uncertain, the chances of such an outcome are gaining traction. Dershowitz, aged 87, has a storied career that includes defending high-profile figures such as Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein.
In his latest book, Dershowitz meticulously explores potential avenues Trump could pursue to re-enter the presidency without violating the Constitution, offering a detailed analysis of this contentious and intriguing possibility.
Dershowitz, 87, who previously defended Mike Tyson, OJ Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein in court, has penned a comprehensive new book outlining all the routes Trump could take to serve again without breaking the Constitution.
Ahead of publication on Tuesday, Dershowitz revealed to the Daily Mail which of these routes is most likely, while explaining exactly how the current political climate is creating a petri dish for Trump 3.0.
He also named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, and Chris Murphy as surprising catalysts for a third MAGA movement, since any one of their nominations could prompt Republicans to double down on efforts to re-elect Trump.
The Democrats have even accidentally created a blueprint for Trump to reclaim the White House with ‘an idea they came up with’ 25 years ago in an effort to secure a third term for Bill Clinton, according to Dershowitz.
Donald Trump has openly flirted with the idea of reclaiming the White House in 2028. He is pictured alongside Melania and Ivanka at his presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025
Formidable attorney and Trump insider Alan Dershowitz has revealed the president’s most likely route to a third term – and how the Democrats could be inadvertently paving the way
The president has openly flirted with the idea of making a comeback, while diehard MAGA fans have already upgraded their crimson caps for ‘Trump 2028’ versions
The veteran Harvard Law School professor’s book centers on the 22nd Amendment, which intended to impose an eight-year limit on total presidential terms.
Yet, Dershowitz writes, it left a ‘gaping hole’ allowing for a two-term president to serve again, as long as they are not ‘elected’ – meaning Trump could still run for another Cabinet position and succeed to the top of the hierarchy.
Dershowitz’s book will be published Tuesday
Dershowitz shot down any aspersion that such an interpretation is a violation of the Constitution’s intentions.
‘The only proof of what the framers intended is what they produced,’ he told the Mail.
‘And they produced an amendment with a hole bigger than the new wing of the White House that can be used to allow a president to serve a third term.’
Hypothetically, Trump could become the running mate of a close ally like JD Vance or Marco Rubio, who would agree to troll the Democrats by ceding the role to him once elected.
Though Trump brushed off securing a third term like this as ‘too cute’ in November, he disclosed to NBC around the same time that he is ‘not joking’ about making a comeback in 2028.
Former White House chief strategist and longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has even gone as far as asserting that the president ‘is going to get a third term’.
‘At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is – but there is a plan,’ Bannon told the Economist in October.
Dershowitz’s book, ‘Could Trump Constitutionally Serve A Third Term?’ outlines exactly what such a plan would entail – and the tectonic plates beneath the current political terrain which could give way to a MAGA-red eruption in 2028.
Dershowitz, 87, is a formidable attorney who previously defended Mike Tyson, OJ Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein. ‘Could Trump Constitutionally Serve A Third Term?’ is his 63rd book. Dershowitz is pictured behind Trump in the White House on December 11, 2019
Dershowitz revealed which of the routes for Trump to serve a third term is most likely. He represented Trump at his first impeachment trial and they are shown during one hearing above
Dershowitz, 87, is a formidable attorney who previously defended Mike Tyson, OJ Simpson, and Jeffrey Epstein. He is pictured conferring with OJ during a pretrial hearing in October 1995
Dershowitz has written a book about how Trump could constitutionally serve a third term. He is pictured in glasses and a blue shirt and tie among a sea of legal professionals standing behind Trump as he made a speech during his fraud trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in May 2024
‘The scenario that would be the most likely is if the (Iran) war were to continue and really become a major factor in American foreign policy and domestic policy,’ Dershowitz told the Mail.
‘That, and the Democrats nominating a radical leftist who would want to end the war on terms unfavorable to the country, and there was a movement within the Republican Party to allow President Trump to serve a third term.
‘That would be the circumstances under which it would be realistic.’
‘AOC, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy from Connecticut – these are all extreme radicals that the Republicans would do anything to see defeated,’ he added.
‘If any of them got nominated, or if even (Illinois Governor) JB Pritzker got nominated, I think there would be a tremendous movement within the Republican Party to say, let’s do anything we can to stop them.
‘They might think that nominating Vance or Rubio would be enough, but what if the polls show that neither of those could beat the Democrats unless Trump were seen as essentially the person that would serve?
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if the Republicans would do that.
‘Is it likely? No. Is it plausible? Yes. Could it be stopped? Not under the current 22nd Amendment.
‘The courts wouldn’t interfere with it, the Supreme Court couldn’t stop it, I’m confident about that. And so, it could happen.’
Dershowitz said legal insiders are quietly preparing for the possibility of Trump 3.0. Legal scholar Laurence Tribe mused the premise in the X post shown above, saying discounting a third Trump term would be ‘thinking magically’ because the Constitution does allow for it
As diehard MAGA fans upgrade their crimson caps for ‘Trump 2028’ versions, the president has been openly flirting with the idea of reclaiming the White House
Lindsey Graham brought a ‘Trump 2028’ hat to an event at the Kennedy Center in August
When asked whether both Trump and Democrat lawyers were preparing for this possibility, he said: ‘I know for a fact that’s true on both sides.
‘I know for a fact that there is thought being given to how to make it happen, and thought being given on how to prevent it from happening.’
Dershowitz added that ‘likely’ Democrat victories in the upcoming midterm elections will also catalyze efforts being made by Republicans.
He said such an outcome would provide ‘a predictive indicator of how the 2028 election will go’, spurring efforts to thwart the growing threat of a liberal takeover.
‘If the Republicans lose the midterms, Trump will probably shorten his coat-tails and may not have the ability to name a successor, whether it be Vance or Rubio,’ he said.
‘People on the extreme right want Vance, and the people more in the center want Rubio.
‘But there are a lot of people out there who would like to see Trump do it again, only because they think he has a better chance of winning.’
Dershowitz said that efforts made by liberal lawmakers to secure a third term for Bill Clinton in 2000 may also have provided a blueprint for Trump to do the same.
He blasted Democrat insiders who are ‘very opposed’ to the premise of his book on the grounds that it paves the way for Trump to ‘exploit’ the 22nd Amendment, yet they previously said that Clinton could serve a third term using the same mechanism.
Dershowitz also explained how radical Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could inadvertently become Trump’s secret weapon in the 2028 race
The author blasted Democrat insiders who are ‘very opposed’ to the premise of his book on the grounds that it paves the way for Trump to exploit the 22nd Amendment, yet previously said that former president Bill Clinton could serve a third term using the same mechanism
Dershowitz said that unsuccessful efforts to secure a third term for Bill Clinton in 2000 may also have provided a blueprint for Trump to do the same. The Clintons are pictured in that year
‘They were all in favor of Clinton doing it,’ Dershowitz said. ‘This is not a new idea, this is an idea the Democrats came up with in 2000.
‘Of course, they ended up losing the election in 2000 – a very contested election to be sure – but I think some of them regret that efforts weren’t made to give Clinton a third term, instead of giving Bush two terms.’
Dershowitz, a self-described ‘life-long Democrat’ who voted for every blue candidate since JFK until recent years, said he does not consider using the 22nd Amendment to serve a third term a misuse of the Constitution.
‘My personal preference would be for a president not to get a third term, but I don’t allow my personal preference to in any way influence my constitutional analysis,’ he told the Mail.
His book outlines how Trump could take up the Vice Presidency as the running mate of a close ally like JD Vance or Marco Rubio, who would agree to troll the Democrats by ceding the role to him once elected.
He could also become Vice President via appointment using the 25th Amendment, then succeed to the presidency in the same way.
‘The vice president is a bit like a child’s godparent,’ Dershowitz wrote. ‘The role is mostly ceremonial – until it suddenly isn’t.’
Dershowitz’s book outlines how Trump could take up the Vice Presidency as the running mate of a close ally like JD Vance or Marco Rubio, who would then agree to troll the Democrats by ceding the role to him once elected. (Pictured: Vance and Rubio in the Oval Office in March)
Dershowitz is pictured defending Trump during his impeachment trial in January 2020
The same could be done with the role of Speaker of the House, which is third in line under the Presidential Succession Act, and would involve both the president and vice president ceding their roles.
Dershowitz notes that this almost happened in 1974, when Richard Nixon and his vice president Spiro Agnew resigned amid the Watergate scandal.
The resulting power vacuum would have been filled by the Speaker, if Congressman Gerald Ford had not rapidly become vice president during the interim between the resignations.
Trump’s name has also been floated for Speaker by allies before, after a collection of House conservatives succeeded in toppling House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023.
Another, less likely, route would be in the event of an Electoral College deadlock, Trump could be chosen as the next president by the House of Representatives, following a path carved by Thomas Jefferson when he became president in 1801.
Trump ‘could secure the third term if there is no majority of electors for any candidate, then the House of Representatives must “choose” rather than “elect” the president from the top three,’ Dershowitz wrote.
The longtime lawyer, who has written 63 books over the course of his decades-long career, said his latest publication is not intended to support the idea of Trump 3.0.
Dershowitz said it was written ‘in the spirit of non-partisanship and objectivity, as a teacher’.
‘I’m proud to have written it,’ he told the Mail.
‘I don’t think it’s going to influence necessarily who’s the next president of the United States, but I think it’s going to influence how people think about it, and that’s my job.’
WHAT DOES THE 22ND AMENDMENT SAY?
The Amendment reads:
‘No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.
‘But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.’
WHO COULD SUCCEED TO THE PRESIDENCY?
Under the Presidential Succession Act:
1. Vice President – JD Vance
2. Speaker – Mike Johnson
3. President pro tempore of the Senate – Chuck Grassley
4. Secretary of State – Marco Rubio
5. Secretary of the Treasury – Scott Bessent
6. Secretary of Defense – Pete Hegseth
7. Attorney General – Pam Bondi
8. Secretary of the Interior – Doug Burgum
9. Secretary of Agriculture – Brooke Rollins
10. Secretary of Commerce – Howard Lutnick
