Trump raises possibility of third term in White House
‘I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good, we got to figure something else’
WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that he could be open to a constitution-breaking third term in office, in remarks made to House Republicans ahead of the start of his second term.
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good, we got to figure something else,’” Trump provocatively told his audience in a downtown Washington hotel, drawing some laughter from supporters.
Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House to meet President Joe Biden Wednesday, in the Republican’s first visit since departing amid a cloud of scandal nearly four years ago.
Trump’s meeting with Biden comes as he moves swiftly to name his top team, including the world’s richest man Elon Musk as head of a new group aimed at slashing government waste.
Democrat Biden invited his sworn rival to meet in the Oval Office - despite the fact that Trump, who has consistently refused to admit his 2020 election loss, never afforded Biden the same courtesy.
Biden, 81, is expected to urge a smooth transition of power in the encounter at 11am (1600 GMT) - and push for continued support for Ukraine.
“He believes in the norms. He believes in our institutions,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday when asked why Biden was inviting Trump.
“The American people deserve this. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power.”
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Biden would go over top foreign policy issues when he meets Trump - including US support for Kyiv against Russia, which Trump has criticized.
“The president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking,” Sullivan told CBS on Sunday.
But the meeting may be a bitter pill to swallow for Biden, who branded Trump a threat to democracy and was vying for the presidency against him until a disastrous debate performance forced the Democrat out of the race in July.
House speaker Mike Johnson said Trump may also visit the US Capitol - the building a mob of his supporters stormed in 2021 to try to reverse his election loss - but these plans have not been finalized.
Trump’s party looks set to take both chambers of Congress and consolidate his extraordinary comeback.